


By Lies We Flattered Be

by SwordsandShields99



Category: Mass Effect (Comics), Mass Effect - All Media Types, Mass Effect Trilogy
Genre: Alternate Universe, Eventual Fluff, Eventual Romance, Eventual Smut, F/M, First Contact, First Contact War, Military, Slow Build, mass effect: evolution
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-01
Updated: 2020-08-03
Packaged: 2021-03-02 22:48:34
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 21,667
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24484585
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SwordsandShields99/pseuds/SwordsandShields99
Summary: Alternate Universe - First Contact / Reaper WarFemShep/Garrus <3Commander Shepard is given a special ops mission that could very well change humanity forever. And the one she is tasked with tracking down, will change her life forever.Garrus Vakarian tried to be a good Turian. It isn't working out so far.
Relationships: Female Shepard/Garrus Vakarian
Comments: 13
Kudos: 29





	1. Though I Know She Lies

_When my love swears that she is made of truth_

_I do believe her, though I know she lies,_

_That she might think me some untutored youth_

_Unlearned in the world's false subtleties._

_Thus vainly thinking that she thinks me young,_

_Although she knows my days are past the best,_

_Simply I credit her false speaking tongue;_

_On both sides thus is simple truth suppressed._

_But wherefore says she not she is unjust?_

_And wherefore say not I that I am old?_

_O love's best habit is in seeming trust,_

_And age in love loves not t'have years told._

_Therefore I lie with her, and she with me,_

_And in our faults by lies we flattered be._

_\--------------------------------------------------_

** April 14th, 2158 **

The light green leaves shimmered in the warm mountain breeze, the sunlight causing them to look and sound like gentle waves through the forest air. Shepard breathed in deeply, still in awe of the beauty of it all. A poor orphan from a mars colony, the wonders of Earth's nature never ceased to amaze her, the fresh air of the extremely rare wilderness even more so. She had never seen trees like this before - perhaps a tree here or there in a large city but not in acres of unmarked mountainous terrain. She heard something buzz past her head and she swatted at it vigorously, and she refocused on her mission.

_"This won't be easy, Shepard. There had been 12 heat signatures, and at last contact there was only one. It's extremely suspect, the whole damned situation. We have no idea what you'll be walking into. We've sent in drones and we've lost contact with all of them. That's just one more reason for this whole thing to look suspicious. Damn, we know their tech is more advanced than ours. We wouldn't have even been looking if it wasn't for a sudden signal to the location. Even that has gone dark now. You might walk in and find nothing, you might go and find a clue, and you might be walking into a god-damned trap. We'll give you a distress beacon, a new state of the art omni-tool for communications, and as much intelligence as we have. You've already received Turian combat training, correct?"_

_"Yes Sir, Captain Anderson."_

_"Good. Pray to God you won't need it."_

Shepard moved as quickly as she could, but she sure as hell wasn't used to walking in the woods. There were twigs and leaves everywhere. She was going to give up on not leaving a trail to track soon if she couldn't start getting the hang of it faster. She was slowly approaching the last known location of activity. Anderson would get a kick out of it if it was a heard of deer or pack of wolves or something. Spend all of this military money just to track down some wildlife. But that wouldn't explain the weird signal they got a few days ago.

No, Shepard had a bad feeling about this. She approached the coordinates as stealthily as possible, crouching low to the ground to hide behind the low-growing brush. Suddenly, she heard faint beeping. Had she triggered some type of enemy alarm? She heard something large moving ahead, and she jumped up and started running. She turned the safety off on her rifle and took chase. She could hear whatever it was running up ahead through the trees. Damn, was it fast. She was falling behind quickly. Suddenly, the trees and brush thickened and she could barely see a few feet ahead of her. She couldn't even hear the thing now. "Damn," she huffed as she plowed through a few bushes. She skidded to a stop as she nearly tumbled off of a cliff. "What the hell?" she panted in pure confusion. She heard a soft click behind her back. "Fuck," she groaned. How had it bested her? She hadn't realized it would be so damned fast. No one had ever fought one out in the open like this, just aboard space ships with guns, nice and far away from one another. Never face to face. Hell, she didn't even know what it would look like. 

She heard a deep, dual-toned voice growl something dangerously behind her, but she couldn't understand the language. She saw one armored finger point past her arm at her weapon, and then the ground. Shepard couldn't let go of that gun. If it was that fast, it probably had the upper hand in hand-to-hand combat. If she put down that gun, she might as well throw her life away. It once again grumbled menacingly. She didn't have a choice. She set the gun down slowly, as close as possible. It prodded her with it's own gun, pulling her to turn slowly.

Shepard took a slow breath, and turned. Commander Shepard had survived a lot in her young life. She had moved to a Mars Colony, helped her parents start a life there, watched them die when the raiders came, was sold into slavery, was saved by the Alliance, joined the military, and became the best damned soldier of the century. Commander Shepard wasn't fucking scared. It was the universe that should be afraid. She turned around slowly, and what she saw scared the ever-loving shit out of her. She gasped and took a small step backwards. All of a sudden, the ground crumbled and her foot slipped off the edge of the cliff. She reached out and grabbed at a root that was sticking through the edge and held on for dear life as she fell. 

She saw the alien face peer over the edge at her. It raised one of the plates above it's eye, like it was questioning her, and said something hesitantly. 

She glared at it, "Do not push me off the edge of this damned cliff." 

It huffed at her, and grumbled something. It disappeared. "Damn it," Shepard said. Not only had she lost her target but she had to try and climb back up on her own. She suddenly watched her weapon go flying over the edge of the cliff. "Hey!" she shouted out.

She heard a strange, dual-toned chirping sound coming from the alien as it's head popped back over the edge. It reached it's hand out slowly. 

She looked into it's eyes. Shepard was a good judge of character. She had to be, or she wouldn't still be alive after the raiders. And this thing, it's eyes weren't lying. She didn't know how she knew, she just did. She nodded, and it reached out to her. She reached out to the creature, it's three-fingered hand about to grasp her wrists when suddenly the root snapped, it's talons slicing her wrist and hand as she fell. She hit the ground fast and hard, and the world went dark.

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Shepard woke with a groan. "Shit," she moaned, blinking hard to try and get the world into focus. She looked up and saw the blue sky, a bird flying over head. Earth was beautiful. She moved her hands and felt the dirt and weeds beneath her. She tried to move her leg and shouted with pain. She heard something running towards her, approaching quickly. She blinked into the direction of the sound and saw something running straight for her. A tall creature, with hard plates covering it's face and large heavy armor. It's digitigrade legs and toes caused it to run fast and menacingly, and if the wind hadn't been knocked out of her she may have shouted out a warning. 3 spikes stuck out from the back of it's head, and it's fingers ended in long talons. God, what was this enemy they faced? They didn't stand a chance. 

Suddenly, it was there beside her, not attacking but leaning down and dispensing some type of medicine on the scratches it's talons had left on her arms. He handed her a strange looking small piece of tech and pointed towards the side of it's head. She held it up to her ear, and the thing started talking. "Can you speak?" it asked her, a strange sound coming from it's dual-toned voice. It had given her a translator? It definitely wasn't meant for human ears, but still. Strange. 

"Yes," she hissed. "God, damn it," she cringed as the pain in her wrist suddenly came to her. She had definitely cracked some ribs, too. 

It pulled out an omni-tool and scanned her. "No internal bleeding, but that bone looks cracked," it said pointing to her wrist, "and a few here too," it said pointing towards her ribs. "This leg is the worst. I'm no doctor, but I've reset injuries like these before. It's best to do it quickly so that it doesn't heal incorrectly." Suddenly, he reached out and she heard a loud crack as he forced her leg back into place. She screamed, and the world went dark once again.

\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Hey," a dual-toned voice said softly. Shepard felt a small prodding in her upper arm. "Hey, wake up." 

"Ugh," Shepard groaned as she came-to. 

"Yeah, I know. But you should try and wake up. I got some water for you." 

Shepard opened her eyes and gasped, as she saw the predatory eyes gazing down at her. She tried to scoot back and was instantly hit with a wave of pain from her leg and wrist.

"Hey, it's ok. I'm not going to hurt you just, here," it said, leaving the cup at her side and taking a few steps back. 

She regained more of her consciousness and took in her surroundings, recalling the day's events. "You... saved me?.... Why?", she asked, truly confused. She wouldn't have done the same. She would have left it there to die. One more enemy taken care of in this god-forsaken war. 

It just shrugged at her. "I'm not here to hurt anyone. That's not my mission. And I wouldn't hurt someone who is unarmed or injured even if that was my mission." 

"So what's your mission," she said quickly. The thing just looked at her with a raised brow-plate. "Can't blame me for trying," she grumbled as she tried to sit up enough to drink. She slowly tapped her fingers against her military cargo pants. She gritted her teeth and leveled her eyes at the creature. "Where is my tech? My becaon, my omni-tool?" 

"Ah, I took the opportunity of your unconsciousness to relieve you of those. I'm not going to harm you, that doesn't mean I have a death wish." 

"So what now? Keep me here until I heal and then trial by combat?" she asked gruffly. 

It huffed at her, and she heard a strange sound coming from it's dual-toned voice. It looked down. "Honestly, I don't know. I have to think." It started pacing. 

"Where are we?" she asked.

"I've created a small safe-zone. Masked all energy readings, we're virtually undetectable. This cave has multiple points of exit for me, so it seemed logical."

Shepard looked around, trying to mark each point of entry. "That's a lot of gear for one person," she said, looking at the gear along the back wall. 

"Yeah," it said softly, but said nothing more. It walked over to her and injected her with something. 

"Hey!" she shouted, trying to fight it off, but her injuries didn't allow for much movement. 

"Listen, I've given you some more medicine to heal those wounds, and a light sedative. I need time to think. You need to rest and recover. I won't harm you. I won't even come near you. If you need water or food, let me know. When was the last time you ate?"

She shrugged. A long time, if she was honest. She was starving. 

"I'll go get something and bring it back."

"Not in the sharing mood?" she asked looking at the packs against the wall.

"You can't eat what I do. Different chirality. I'm dextro, you're levo." It stooped to get it's gun and headed out towards the back exit of the cave.

"You're not worried I'll escape?"

It looked back at her. "It was maybe a bit more than a mild sedative," it said, it's mandible type features on it's face flaring outwards. Was that a smirk? She glared back at it. "Not like you'd make it far with that leg," it called back as it left. 

Shepard had the mind to try and get up and search through it's things, but suddenly her eyelids were heavy and her limbs didn't work, and she drifted. 

  
<https://www.deviantart.com/angryrabbitgmod/art/Epic-Garrus-Vakarian-335672502>  
by: AngryRabbitGmoD


	2. False Subtleties

_Ellie stared up at the orange atmosphere through a swirling cloud of red sand._

_"_ _This planet was made for you, Ellie," her mother had said with a smile while playing with her red hair... that was the first day they arrived on Mars. Back when they had still believed Mars was a colony you could go to for a fresh start, a place with job opportunity and adventure. It wasn't as pretty as Earth, which is what made the rate of living a bit cheaper. The colonization of Mars happened so long ago, that all of the privileged had left, realizing that Earth was a paradise, with it's easily breathed air and fresh water. Which left opportunity wide open for families like Ellie's. Her father was an agricultural scientist, and when he was offered the farming job on mars, he leapt at the opportunity. Her mother was a preschool teacher, and there were a couple of openings on mars. It was a good fit._

_Or so they had thought. Turns out, a slum, is a slum, is a slum. Doesn't matter what planet you're on. And being on mars gave everyone a sort of vulnerability. It didn't matter how colonized Mars was, it wasn't Earth. There wasn't as many resources, and people were more exposed, out in the open. It didn't take long for gangs and raiders to make their way to the planet. Where there was poverty and the oppressed, trouble was soon to follow. "Some injustices never change," her father had said sadly one night after the first shooting on Mars._

_And now, as Ellie stared through the swirling red sand, she realized just how true that was. She took deep breaths trying to center herself. "Keep going!" she had heard her father yell behind her. And then she heard the gunshot. She turned slowly to watch him fall to the ground, already dead. "Keep going!" he had said, and so she did. Right out into the martian sandstorm. If she got lost out here, she knew she would die. But then again, it meant the raiders couldn't find her too. She had seen them taking people into one of their ships. And apparently they killed anyone who struggled too much. The sand tore at her enviro-suit, and the air seemed more difficult to breathe. She dropped to her knees and hunkered closer to the ground, trying to get her barrings. Suddenly, she felt a foot kick her in the back and she sprawled to the ground._

_"Wait!" a man yelled out, "Don't shoot. This one's pretty. Take her to crate C. That's where the boss will want her."_

_Before she even had the chance to run, she felt someone roughly tie rope around her hands behind her back. "Let's go," a man shouted as he pulled her to her feet. They walked for about 10 minutes before reaching crate C. The man threw her inside and slammed the shipping crate shut behind her. When her eyes adjusted, she saw that she was surrounded by 10 girls, all about her age. Some were crying, while others huddled together towards the back of the crate in silence, while another paced nervously along the side wall._

_"Keep going!" she could hear her father's voice._

_"Agh!" Ellie yelled as she slammed her body weight into the crate door. "Let me out!" she banged and yelled, searched the crate for weaknesses, and tried prying the door open, but nothing worked. Suddenly, she heard a click, and the crate began to fill with smoke. "No!" she yelled, but it was no use. She slumped over as the feeling in her arms and legs left her. Her brain felt foggy and tired. She saw a man come in and inject her with something. She felt ok then. Everything was going to be ok. Sure, she was scared, but whatever it was that he gave her made her feel alright._

_"Alright, half of them are going to Bruce, and the other half are leaving with us for trade. I don't care which, just separate them," she heard a deep voice say from the door._

_"Step up against the wall, honey," a sweet voice said from in front of her. "You, you, you, and you, come with me." Ellie wasn't one of those, so she stayed against the wall._

_Ellie felt the crate being lifted, and after an unknown amount of time felt the engines of a ship as they took off. "Hey sweet thing," a short man with a beard said as he approached her slowly._

_He ran a finger down her cheek. Suddenly out of nowhere, another man came up behind the short one and punched him hard in the back of the head. "These aren't Bruce's lot, you hear me? These are for the trading ring. They have a strict no-touching the merchandise policy, or we don't get paid. And I get paid, Jack. One way or another, you catch me?"_

_The short man nodded with a grunt and stalked off. "The buyers are picky that way," the tall man smirked at Ellie. "They'll want you all to themselves I suppose. Selfish pricks." Ellie looked over at the other girls. They all seemed just as out of it as she felt. She could barely move any of her limbs, much less talk. Luckily the man walked away, and she slid down to the floor, clutching her knees to her chest._

_Ellie sat there for what felt like hours or days, she wasn't sure, when suddenly a bright light entered their crate. A man in a military uniform knelt down beside her. "It's alright now, you're safe." He held out his hand to her, but she just stared at him in confusion._

_"They're drugged, Anderson, I don't think they can talk much," a voice called out from the doorway._

_The man looked back at her, "That's alright, you don't have to say a thing. I've got you... there... there you go, that's it on your feet soldier," the man said gently as he helped her to her feet. "I'm with the Alliance. We're here to save you."_

_\----------------------------------------------------------_

Shepard smelled something good. She tried to register what it was.... food? A bonfire? She opened her eyes slowly and took in a large breath at the sight of a large Turian hunched over the flames. It's back was to her, and she could see the outline of the spikes rising from it's head. It stiffened as it heard her shift on the cot, and glanced over it's shoulder at her. "You're awake," it said as it turned around slowly. Shepard tried flexing some muscles and stretching, but the pain in her leg and her side was overwhelming. It just stared at her. She still felt the effects of the sedative, lethargic and foggy. She wasn't herself, and she didn't like it. She hated it.

Suddenly, the Turian's eyes grew wide and it lunged at her. She gasped in fear, bringing her hands over her face. Just as soon as it had lunged and towered over her, it had jumped back. She could hear it wrestling with something and she brought her hands down slowly from her face to see it throwing a snake out of the cave.

"What... the hell... was that?!" it said, horror clearly ringing out in it's voice. 

Shepard looked at the Turian incredulously. "It was a snake, some of them are poisonous.... thanks."

"It was... slimy looking. Is everything on this planet soft?" it asked as it visually shuddered. 

Shepard nearly laughed at seeing it's discomfort. "I think you look like you can handle it." Shepard suddenly felt a wave of regret at how she had cowered when the Turian had lunged towards her. Even if it had attacked her, she shouldn't have shown fear like that. That wasn't her. She sat up straight, ignoring the pain in her side and chest. 

The Turian brought over a plate of something, rabbit maybe, and handed it to her. "I'm not sure what you eat, or what I can find out here, but it didn't seem dangerous out there so I figured it might be safe for you." 

She nodded and took a bite. "Not bad," she said through chewing. It nodded, and went to go sit on the opposite side of the camp. It pulled out some tools and started working on some sort of tech. It suddenly struck her that she had been so focused on the physical aspects of this creature, that she hadn't even considered that it was intelligent, that it was capable of working on something so intricate. Obviously this species was good at tech. Obviously they were intelligent. She suddenly felt a wave of shock and uncertainty. This was a person in front of her. Just like any other war, there were real people on the other side. Families and children. Then why... why did they attack?

"Why?" she said softly, staring into the fire.

It... he looked up at her with one brow-plate raised.

"Why did you do it? Why did the Turian's attack us? We did nothing to you. We didn't harm anyone, we weren't even in your territory." 

The Turian looked down at the tech in his hands. "I'm no politician, I'm just a soldier. But your people did something illegal. Something that could have brought very bad things into our galaxy. The relay you were attempting to open... it could have brought terrible things. It wasn't our intention to start a war, it was an attempt to stop you from bringing one. But once your people start hitting back, they don't stop. Clearly it all went wrong."

"We would stop. We didn't want this war. Your people fired on us. So if the Turians don't want war, why no attempts for peace talks? Why keep attacking? At the very least, you could just leave."

The Turian continued staring into his lap. "I don't know. Like I said, I'm no politician. I'm young, not very high up in the hierarchy. They don't tell me why we do things."

"So you just follow orders without knowing why?" she asked, venom lacing her words.

He looked up at her quickly then. He stared at her for a moment, his mandibles twitching across his cheeks. "I don't know about humans, but Turians follow the orders of their superiors. Isn't that why you're out here?"

"I'm out here because there were potential enemies on our planet."

"Huh. We're out here because there are potential enemies in our galaxy." 

"We did nothing to you!" she shouted back. "You fired first!"

"From what I hear, we arrived just in time to stop you. You have no idea what you were about to unleash." 

"So tell me! Don't just shoot and kill my people! Tell us, peacefully. You can justify it all you want, but all I see is a murderer in front of me." 

He straightened, his mandibles pulled tight to his face plates. "Is that right? Maybe I should have just left you then, if I'm such a murderer?"

"I still don't see why you didn't." 

"Yeah. Maybe you never will," he said getting up and walking out. "I guess I should be glad our roles weren't reversed, or I'd probably have a bullet in my head by now."

Shepard's blood boiled beneath her skin, her fingers tingling and her mind racing. 'How dare he?' she thought. Suddenly, she saw a barrier raise in front of each exit. "You're trapping me in here?" she shouted out, but heard no response. She hated feeling trapped. 


	3. Untutored Youth

_Garrus rubbed his eyes with the backs of his hands. He had been staring at his screen for hours now writing up reports. He missed the military, missed the shooting ranges and the awful food. But once his father had spoken with his superior about joining C-sec, his fate was sealed. His father had a lot of respect from just about everyone, the military, the hierarchy, C-Sec... it was impressive really. And Garrus hadn't even tried to fight it. The idea of helping people, fighting injustice... well if there was a career for him after the military, C-sec was it. But he hadn't been doing much helping lately. C-Sec wasn't what he thought it was. After growing up hearing about his heroic c-sec father, saving the day and putting away the bad guys, the real job wasn't what he had envisioned. Half of the time the victims were already dead, so there was no helping them. And half of the time the perp got away... no justice. No, police work wasn't what he had thought it would be. It was driving Garrus crazy. He felt like he was crawling in his own plates with no way out._

_Garrus re-focused on his screen and tried to finish up another report. But only a few moments later, his eyes were wandering to the Spectre-training letter on his desk. Spirits, did he want to go. His father would never allow it. And at the age of 24, he knew the window of opportunity was closing. Pretty soon, his career path would be set in stone._

_He rolled his neck and shoulders, trying to stretch out the sore muscles. He remembered when a sore neck was from a long day of fighting and training, not from sitting at a desk too long. He rolled his eyes at himself and finished up the last report. He grabbed the Spectre letter and punched out for the day._

_"Going home so soon?" he heard his father call from down the hall._

_He sighed and entered his father's office. "My shift ended 30 minutes ago."_ _His father just shrugged, still staring at his own screen. "What about you? Shouldn't you be getting ready for your retirement party?"_

_"What, that's tomorrow. Plenty of time," the older Turian said without glancing away from his report._

_Garrus chuckled thinking about how his mother might disagree. Garrus sat down in the chair in front of his father's desk. "Dad, I got a letter today. For Spectre training, and I really want to..."_

_"Bah! Spectres. An awful bunch. You know how I feel about those vigilantes, Garrus. No one should be above the law, no one."_

_"Dad, I want to do it."_

_His father looked up at him then, a brow-plate raised. "We're not talking about this."_

_"Dad, this isn't what I want to do with my life. Most of the time there's so much red-tape around here the perp escapes, or the victims die."_

_"Garrus, I know what happened with the Saleon case has you rattled. I've taken hits like those, and I know it's frustrating. But if we stoop to their level, we're no better than they are."_

_"If the people we've sworn to protect get taken away, their organs removed, and killed while we watch, how in the hell are we any better? At least a Spectre can do what needs to be done."_

_"Garrus, you can't be serious. A Spectre? You know what they are, what they do. You'd be not just leaving the hierarchy for good, you'd be throwing away a decent, respectable career. You think you can have a family as a Spectre?"_

_"_ _Dad, I don't care..."_

_"You don't care about it now, Garrus. But what about when you meet some pretty girl on Palavan and want a change? You can't just leave that life."_

_"That's your life, dad, not mine."_

_His father sighed. "Garrus." The older Turian said his name with such weight and finality, he knew the conversation was over._

_Garrus stood up and walked towards the door. "See you at your party," he grumbled. Before he could get out the door, a younger, smaller Turian bounded through._

_"Officer Vakarian?"_

_"Yes?" both he and his father answered. Garrus' mandibles flicked once. How foolish for him to answer, while in the great 'Detective Vakarian's' office._

_The young recruit looked a bit confused, before seeing Garrus' blue markings. "Ah, Officer Vakarian, sir, I have a message from hierarchy high command for you."_

_"For me?" Garrus asked, confused himself._

_"Yes sir," the recruit said nervously. "High Command has requested your presence immediately. Most of the hierarchy is onboard the Panteon right now, docked in port side dock 24, awaiting your presence sir."_

_Garrus' mandibles nearly hit the floor._

_"Why?" he stammered._

_"Well, I assume they want you back, sir. Something big is going on, and you're the best."_

_"You know who I am?" Garrus asked, floored._

_"Yes sir! All the recruits know you. You've got more records and awards than my whole squad combined. Not to mention you were the youngest assigned sniper to Squad 1." The recruit's eyes were wide open as he excitedly paced back and forth. "Oh, sorry sir. Best not keep them waiting." The recruit ran out the door and out of sight._

_Garrus turned back to look at his father. The older Turian had a tight smile on his face. "Best not keep them waiting, son."_

_\---------------------------------------------------------------_

Garrus returned to the cave late. He was hoping that the human would be asleep by the time he got back, but of course he wasn't that lucky. She hadn't left the cot, and was staring into the fire.  
  
He sat in the back of the cave, continuing his work on the stealth communications network. Honestly, he had no idea what to do now. No one in command would have ever made a back up plan for what had happened here. He had been in charge of weapons maintenance. He was in no way a communications network specialist. If he continued his mission and sent a message for help, this human would still be here, and everything would be ruined anyway. She was the enemy. Why hadn't he just shot her on sight? That's what he had been trained for as a soldier. Why had he done all this? Hell, she had nearly killed herself. He could have just walked away then. At this point, it just felt wrong. Killing her now felt like murder, not like a soldier doing his duty. Turians didn't usually keep prisoners, but maybe he could convince the rescue team that she could have valuable intelligence. Hell, maybe she did.

"What's your name?" he asked softly. 

She looked up at him slowly, the firelight making her skin look even more pink than it already did. "Lieutenant Commander Shepard." He nodded. An officer. She must have intel. 

"What's yours," she asked. 

"Garrus Vakarian." He looked over and noticed her head rolling forward, like she was falling asleep. "You alright?"

"Hmm?" she asked, her voice sounding thick and lethargic. 

He stood up and approached her slowly. He saw the claw marks on her arms, a deep red, the surrounding skin pink. He taped his visor, and noticed that the area was much warmer than it had been earlier. In fact, her body temperature as a whole was greatly elevated. "You've got a fever," he said, trying to sound gentle. "You should sleep."

"Hard to sleep with the enemy a few feet away." 

He nodded. He felt the same way. "I get that. But you don't really have a choice. You need rest." He handed her his bottle of water. "And you need to stay hydrated." 

She took a slow drink, before laying down in the cot. It only took a few moments for her to fall asleep. Once he saw her heart rate decrease, he returned to his work in the corner. It was slow work, especially since it was requiring so much trial and error on his part. But this stealth communications network could allow the Turian military to land on Earth without anyone being the wiser. They could take over if needed before any human would even realize they were there. He needed to finish this mission. It could save countless lives on both sides. The sooner this war was over the better. And the Turians would win of course, it was just a matter of time. It took him a few minutes before he realized he was hearing noises coming from the human on the cot. She was shivering, and mumbling something in her sleep. He checked her body temperature. It had dropped drastically. What was going on with her? The infection must be worse than he realized. He scanned her with his omni-tool. "Ah-hah", he muttered.There was an infection in the area that her leg was fractured. 

He walked over slowly. "Hey," he said, but she didn't stir. He sat on the cot next to her. He injected her leg with medigel. His temperature ran much higher than hers. As soon as he sat next to her, she stopped shivering. She leaned over so that she was touching his leg, instinctively trying to get closer to the heat. He studied her face then. The strange strings hanging from her head, orange and red strands falling down around her shoulders. The spots on her cheeks and nose. There was even hair on her face above her eyes, although just barely. She almost looked peaceful, if he was reading her human expression right. Turians were known for their ability to instantly comprehend and imitate the expressions of other species, so he doubted he was wrong. He got up and picked up the whole cot gently, bringing it a bit closer to the fire. 

He returned to the other side of the cave. She was out cold. Maybe he could get an hour of sleep.


	4. Truth Suppressed

_"Shepard, we're approaching the landing zone."_

_"Aye, Captain."_

_Anderson turned to face her. "Listen, you know the objective. I don't like it Shepard, but this comes from above my pay-grade."_

_"I understand, sir."_

_"You're going in alone, without any quick back-up."_

_"Yes, sir."_

_"Once you find them, you are to allow them to capture you. Figure out what they're doing. Once you have all available intelligence use the beacon and we'll send a team in. If possible, bring one back for interrogation. If doing so hinders the primary mission... blast that Turian full of bullets and get home. Got it, soldier?"_

_"Yes, sir. I won't let you down."_

_Anderson placed a hand on her shoulder. "You never have." He paused taking a deep breath. "One more order from me, kid. If they are immediately hostile, which you and I know them to be, and it's you or them, pick you kid. Shoot them and get the hell out. Mission be damned. You're too valuable to lose."_

_\-------------------------_

Shepard woke with a start, trying to gather as much info on her surroundings as she could.

The Turian looked up at her from his work by the fire. "You were out for a while. Feeling any better?"

She shrugged and propped herself up. She looked more closely at him then, to realize he wasn't working on the tech from earlier, and he had taken the top half of his armor off. He looked back down and continued patting at a patch of damaged skin and plating, blue blood soaking the swab he was using. "You're hurt?" she asked.

"Nothing too bad. I got lucky, I guess."

"I didn't think I had hit you before.'

"You didn't," he replied shortly, not looking up.

"There were others here, weren't there. What happened to them?"

The Turian said nothing, but hissed as he hit tender flesh as he cleaned the wound. 

"You shared medicine with me," she said more softly. "You didn't have to. Thank you."

He nodded and kept patching himself up. 

She tried to stare discreetly, but it was difficult. The large cowl of his armor was apparently necessary for his shape, not just an aesthetic choice. The large plates wrapped around his shoulders, coming to a heel down the center of his chest. The plating came together down his middle, forming a small 'v' as it stopped at his narrow waist. The waist was incredibly narrow, even smaller than hers. Given his size, she was surprised by that. It must be an incredible weak point for the species. She wondered how his organs were arranged on the inside. 

His skin was brown and leathery looking, and she noticed small pebbles of plate-like material on his neck. They reminded her of freckles. He only had 3 fingers, but they seemed incredibly agile as they worked at cleaning the wound in his arm and side.

"How tall are you?" she asked randomly. 

He peered up at her. "7 feet. Why?"

"Is that normal for your species?"

"Pretty much. I'm a bit on the taller side, but everyone's pretty much between 6'5" and 7'1"."

"Both women and men?"

"Yeah. Why, are human women taller?"

"No, shorter."

"You are pretty small."

She huffed at him. "I'm a bit on the shorter side. 5'3"." 

He hissed as he hit another tender spot, and applied some more gel.

"Do all of you have plates covering your body like that?"

"Yes," he replied a bit more shortly. Maybe he was tired of the Q & As. He tried reaching around his side to get to the back of the wound but couldn't reach. 

"You can feel the wound on your plate like that? It looks like it would be less sensitive."

"Maybe a bit less sensitive. Still, plenty of nerve endings. Hurts like a..aghhh..." he said trying to reach again but only hurting himself worse.

Shepard grunted as she stood slowly, and hopped over to where he sat. He eyed her suspiciously. "Here," she said, holding her hand out towards the medi-gel. He handed it to her slowly, his eyes darting to predict her movements. "You helped me," she said quietly, as she wiped at the back of his wound gently. "Your blood looks pretty bad-ass, deep blue and all." 

"It doesn't feel bad-ass," he chirped, tensing as she applied the medi-gel. She took the bandage from his hand and placed it over the wound. 

"It matches your tattoos," she said, nodding her head towards his face. He gave her a strange expression, she wasn't sure what it meant, and she felt the rumble of some type of vibrations coming from him since she was so close. 'Whoa', she thought.

"What are we doing here," she said as she sat down next to him with a grunt. 

Garrus wiped the blood from his hands on a rag with a sigh. "I need to finish my mission. It's going to take longer than anticipated. Then when I call for extraction, I'll convince them to bring you with us. You might have valuable intel. We can't leave you here to undo my work, and I don't want them to..." he stopped short.

Shepard was a soldier. She knew the rest. She looked over at him, and his eyes weren't lying. He really didn't want them to kill her. "I appreciate that," she said. "We're soldiers and we have our orders. So, if things swing your way by that point, I appreciate it. If our roles end up reversed somehow, I'll do the same."

"Hmph... thanks," he replied. He stood up then. "I need to get to work. Don't leave the cave. If you do, I'll have to shoot." He went to the back of the cave and picked up the tech he had been working on before, now looking much more complete than earlier. 

Shepard was enjoying the warmth from the fire, when she heard an electrical zap and Turian grumbling noises. "You know, I'm pretty good with tech myself," she said. "But that looks like communications, I'm more of a weapons expert myself."

"Hah, me too," he said. "I'll make due." 

"Yeah, if you don't fry yourself first," she joked.

"Here's to hoping," he said before starting back up again. 

\---------------------------------------------------

Shepard had been in the cave for over a week. Her wrist was almost back to normal, the scratches on her arms were nearly gone, and the bruises from the fall were turning a nasty yellow instead of dark purple. Her leg was still in pretty bad shape, but Garrus continued to share his medi-gel injections, and his scans told her it was healing correctly, just slowly. She could hop around pretty well, if she only kept minimal weight on her bad leg. She still felt she was in bad shape for a fight, and it made her nervous.

Over the past week, Shepard had become a bit more used to the alien in the cave. She was an alliance soldier, loyal through and through, but the man in front of her wasn't violent or angry. He was just a man. A smart man from the looks of it. She was beginning to understand what he was creating. Her mission was coming to a close. She would have to find the beacon soon. If there were men like this amongst these aliens, why did they attack so viciously? Why were they so immediately brutal?

"So, Garrus. You're part of the military?"

He looked at her suspiciously. "Yes." 

"Were you drafted? It seems like you've got a whole planet's worth of soldiers."

"No, not exactly. Everyone is trained though. I came back to the military for the war, to help my people."

"Patriotism... gotta love it. So what did you do between your stint as a military wiz-kid and your current spout of military life?"

"I was a C-Sec agent. There is a place called the citadel, a place where many different peoples and embassies are located. C-Sec is the police force there."

"A cop, huh? What made you want to be a cop? Or is it just the next step after being a soldier."

"I guess... I guess I just wanted to make a difference. Protect people, enforce justice, the whole deal. My father had something to do with it to. He was C-sec, one of the best. I'd grown up watching vids of his successful arrests. I wanted to do that to. I wanted to help people."

She could scarcely believe what she was hearing. He sounded so... so human. He sounded like she had earlier on in her career. He didn't sound evil, hell bent on destroying her people. He was just a guy trying to do right. The night was starting to get chilly, and Garrus joined her by the fire, and she noticed him shiver slightly.

"Don't like the cold?" she asked with a smirk.

"Hate it," he responded grumpily. 

"Is it warmer on your planet?" she asked.

"Much warmer," he said, his voice sounding strange. 

"Miss it?" she asked sincerely.

He looked up at her, and she saw a strange look in his eyes that reflected the sound of his voice. "I guess I do," he stated. He looked down at his hands. "Nothing like not knowing if you'll ever see your home again to put things in perspective, I guess."

Shepard instantly felt a pang in her gut, and it surprised her. Was that sympathy? Why? Before she could think, she found herself speaking. "I really hope you do," she whispered.   
  
He was just as surprised as she was, and his brow plates shot up. It made his face seem younger, more innocent, and she smiled back. "I... I can't tell how old you are," she said, starring at him blatantly. 

He chuckled his mandibles spreading wider away from his face, "I can't tell how old you are either. Although you don't seem too old."

She smirked, "I'm 28." 

He nodded, "I'm 25." 

"What is the general life-span for a Turian?"

"It depends, but usually I'd say around 140 or so. Humans?"

"Ah, about the same actually. It used to be shorter, but recent medical progress has helped quite a bit."

Garrus nodded, "It's crazy to think that's not even a long life relatively speaking."

"What do you mean?"

Garrus stopped short, not looking at her, "Ah, I guess you might not know." 

Shepard leveled him with an inquisitive gaze. "There are others." Garrus nodded. "What's the oldest?"

Garrus rose a brow-plate, contemplating how much information to divulge. "Asari live for about 1,000 years or so. They're the oldest race that I'm aware of." 

"1,00 years?! Damn. There are a lot of sentient races in this galaxy then?"

Garrus nodded again, "A few I suppose."

Shepard shook her head and looked back into the fire. "I wish things were different. I had always imagined finding sentient life in the galaxy, the realization that our race wasn't alone in the universe. I had hoped it would be a friendly encounter That we would find friends, not enemies."

"It's not supposed to be this way," the Turian said in a sad tone, his dual-toned voice wavering slightly. "Throughout the course of our history, no other first contacts have gone violently. It leads us to believe that your race is violent. It makes us question whether or not you are trustworthy as a people." Before she could start he rose a hand, "I know you didn't fire first. All I know is, my people did what they thought was necessary to prevent war, and was met with utter destruction before given the chance to explain."

"If a hostile animal were to approach you, and kill your friends in the wild, would you stop and talk or defend yourself?" she asked more gently than she meant to. 

"I see your point," he said quietly. They sat in silence for a moment before Garrus took a small breath, his mandibles flaring nervously against his face. "If things had worked out differently, if this" he said pointing between them, "could have been first contact, I believe you would have gotten your wish." 

Honestly, Shepard was beginning to feel the same way. Given this wasn't some elaborate ruse and he was being genuine. "So where does this leave our people, Garrus? How can we come back from this? If your people are as innocent as you claim." 

"That's above my pay-grade," he said quickly. 

"You did't strike me as that type."

"What do you mean? What type?"

"The type to roll over quietly. The type to accept bad orders."

"It's hard to fight orders when you don't have all the information, all the facts. At a certain point you have to trust your superiors." 

She shrugged, "And do you still feel the same way now? After meeting me?"

He looked up, and it was then that she noticed the blue-green color of his eyes as he stared into hers. Before she saw the eyes of a predator. Now, she wasn't so sure. There was something more there. Conflict. "I'm not sure. You?"

She felt a wave of uncertainty in her gut, like butterflies in her chest. She watched as his mandibles flicked across his cheeks. "I think you're a good man," she said, the certainty in her voice surprising even her. 

His mandibles flared slightly, and she heard a low rumble from his dual-toned chest. "I think you're a good woman." Shepard's cheeks reddened just slightly. "But how does this change anything?"

"I need an answer this time. Why did you save me? Why not let me die?"

He didn't look away. "I just... had a feeling. I've been in battle before. And with you it was just... different."

\---------------------------------------------------

Garrus worked until sun-up. The injury in his side was worse than he had realized. He was still loosing blood, and he was starting to feel the effects of fatigue. The communications array was complete, the network established. That was the most important part of the mission. The stealth drive could be activated within an hour. Garrus punched in a message with his omnitool. 

_"Mission Critical - Traitor: Pvt. Sidonis - 10 men down. 1 man left, wounded. Communications active. Stealth underway - 1-2 hour estimate. Extraction necessary. 1 captured high-ranking human - requesting extraction for interrogation."_

Within 20 seconds he heard the ping on his omnitool.

_"Mission priority. Stealth completion a must. Considering extraction request. Requesting more intel on high-ranking enemy. Name/rank will determine viability. Otherwise, will send kill order and extraction coordinates."_

Garrus responded immediately.

_"Lieutenant Commander Shepard, Human Female, Alliance Navy."_

Garrus held his breath. *Ping*

_"Extraction confirmed. Extremely high-level target. Will send extraction coordinates after confirmation of location. How wounded are you? Are you able to climb out of mountainous range*_

Garrus sighed heavily. Extremely high-level? He hadn't thought the military would place such a high-value on a Lieutenant, but he supposed he should be grateful. He had expected a kill order.

Garrus walked back towards the cave slowly. Spirits, he hated this. He hated war. But this human would jeopardize the mission, would jeopardize the swift end to this war. He was a soldier, damn it. He didn't want her to suffer, but if she could help his people and still somehow survive... He reached the cave and it was empty. His heart lurched. Where was she? 

"Shepard?" he called out, but she was no where. "Damn it!" He sniffed and caught her scent quickly, and started following her trail. He saw her then. She had found her beacon up in the tree pulley he had rigged and was just getting it down. "Stop!" he shouted, his rifle pulled. He clicked the safety off so that she would know he was serious. 

She looked back at him. "I have a mission too, Garrus," and she clicked the button on the beacon. 

"No!" he yelled as he pulled the trigger, sending a bullet through her arm. She dropped the beacon, but instead of running away she ran straight for him. She was faster than he would have expected, and it took him by surprise. She went right for his injuries, and he doubled over in pain. 

She reached out for a kick, but he launched his legs upwards, his leg spear slicing her leg wide open. She hissed in pain, and brought her fist slamming forward into his face plates below his right eye. He kicked at he fractured leg and she went down quickly. He threw his body on top of hers, his size and weight too much for her. He could rip her throat open with a talon now. It would be easy, quick. He hesitated. Suddenly, he heard a loud sound and looked up to see a helicopter approaching their location. He pushed himself up and started running. Bullets were raining down around him as he tried dodging between the trees and brush. Finally, a bullet caught up with him, hitting him somewhere in his waist, and he went down fast. "Shit!" he huffed. He looked down, and saw blue blood soaking the ground around him. "Shit." He pulled out his omni-tool, and decided to make a call that a good Turian wouldn't make. A good Turian would maintain radio silence and die quietly. 

_"Garrus?"_ he heard a familiar voice say. " _Aren't you on a mission right now?"_

"Hey Dad," he huffed out. It was hard to talk already.

_"Garrus, what's wrong?"_

"Oh, you know. Just a bit of target practice."

"Then call me back later."

"I don't think I'm gonna be able to do that dad." Garrus grunted as he pulled himself behind some brush to try and get more time. He groaned as he felt the muscles and skin tear around the bullet. "Too many targets."

 _"I... see."  
  
_ "I just wanted to hear your voice. Wanted to know how retirement was treating you. You good?"  
 _  
"I’m fine. Forget about that."  
  
_ "Listen, I don’t have a lot of time. I wanted to say… you were right about things. A lot more than I gave you credit for. And I’m sorry we butted heads so much."  
 _  
"I said, forget about that. These targets you’re practicing on – they’re moving fast?"_

Garrus panted hard. He heard the helicopter getting closer, heard humans shouting nearby. "Too fast."   
  
_"How are your thermal clips?"_  
  
"You know how it is. Could always use a couple more." Garrus heard bullets start up, some were way off, and some were way too close. He heard his dad's sharp intake of breath.  
  
 _"Work with what you’ve got, then. You don’t stop pulling that trigger until it clicks, son. No matter how bad things are falling apart around you, as long as you have at least one bullet left, you can still get the job done. Understand? You finish up what you have to do there, and then you come on home to Palaven. We have a lot to sort out."_  
  
"Yeah. We do. Thanks, Dad. For everything. Tell um... tell mom and Sol.. I..." he saw the black at the edge of his vision, threatening his consciousness. "I um.. ughh.." he groaned, griping his hand to his side. "Agh," he grunted as his omni-tool and arm dropped to the ground.   
  
"Garrus?" he heard his father say quickly.

"Garrus!" It was Shepard. She leaned down and put her hands on the wound, trying to put pressure down to stop the bleeding. 


	5. Violent Ends

Shepard had seen it in his eyes. He had her pinned down. She had lost. She couldn't remember the last time she had lost in hand-to-hand combat. And right when he should have killed her, he stopped. Again. Why?   
  
It didn't matter. Shepard had made a promise. That if things went her way, that she would do what she could to make sure he survived. She felt responsible for him. Maybe it was because he had saved her, maybe it was because she let herself get too close to this, but that didn't matter either. 

"Stop! Stop shooting!" she yelled out as she started running after Garrus.

Shepard came across a blue puddle of blood, and saw where he had drug himself behind cover. "Garrus!" she shouted out, falling to the ground beside him. 

"Shepard," Garrus choked out, his omni-tool hand flexing, the other softly laying on top of his abdomen. She gently took his hand to move it to the ground when his three fingers gripped hers tightly. 

"It's... so... cold," he gritted through his teeth.

"I know you hate that," she said, trying to sound positive and upbeat. She put his hand on the ground, and placed both her hands on his abdomen trying to stop the bleeding.

"Can't... feel my legs," he stuttered. She glanced at his face, and his eyes where shut. "Mom..." she thought she heard him whisper.

"Hey," she said trying to jolt him awake. He wasn't responding. "Come on, Big Guy, stay with me here. Shit.... Garrus?" Nothing. "Damn it," she said, her voice feeling thick and heavy.

Suddenly, she heard a noise coming from his omni-tool. A soft, dual-toned keening. She glanced at the omni-tool, but couldn't read the writing. The call was still active.

"Hello?" she asked.

_"You.. you're a human,"_ the voice stated quietly. 

"Who is this?" she asked as she ripped part of her pants apart to make a tourniquet around Garrus' waist.

_"I'm Garrus' father,"_ the strained voice said. 

Shepard's breath caught in her lungs. That was the second time this mission the truth had hit her hard. This was war. With real people on both sides, children and families waiting for loved ones to return. This was a father, listening to his son die. And Garrus had made the call, just wanting to hear his family one more time. Shepard's eyes stung with tears. 

_"Is... is he?"_ the voice stammered.

"Still breathing. I'll do everything I can for him," she choked out.

There was a short pause. She was sure it didn't make sense to the man. The enemy killing his son offering to help. _"Thank you,"_ was all he said back. 

"Maybe you can help me, I don't know much about Turian physiology. He's loosing blood fast. He's got an old bullet wound in his side, and a new one straight in the gut. Am I right to apply pressure to the wound?"

_"Yes, keep doing that. He needs a doctor."_

Shepard heard the sound of soldier boots approaching. Suddenly, a familiar face came through the brush. "Anderson!" 

"Get back, Shepard," he said pointing his gun and Garrus' face. 

"No, put down your weapon, please Captain!" she said quickly, the force in her voice surprising even herself. 

"Shepard?" he asked, voice full of concern and confusion.

"He's injured, unconscious, and he can't hurt anyone. Sir," she pleaded. 

"Give me a reason not to shoot this enemy, Lieutenant," Anderson said.

"He spared me. I need to return the favor. And if you need more reason than that, then tell the brass he's more valuable alive than dead."

Anderson slowly lowered his weapon. "If this goes to shit, you're taking the heat Lieutenant. If he hurts or kills any of our men,"

"I understand sir. It's on my head. Is there a doctor with you?"

Anderson nodded. "I brought one in case you needed it."

"Get them out here now," she said, voice full of authority. Shepard glanced down at Garrus' omni-tool. His father was listening silently. 

"Shepard, this is Dr. Chakwas. She's an army medic." 

Dr. Chakwas ran over to Garrus and immediately started trying to figure out how to take off the Turian armor. 

"You don't mind treating a Turian?" Shepard asked softly.

"I am a doctor. I value life. All life. Damn it, I can't figure out this Turian armor. He's bleeding out too quickly," she huffed.

"There are clasps on the side, pinch them together and pull. There's a few up on the cowl as well," Garrus' father said softly.

Dr Chakwas gasped, "Who is that?"

"It's his father, doctor. Garrus must have called him before he lost consciousness." 

"Good god," Dr Chakwas said, voice full of sorrow. "Thank you sir, I've found the clasps. Is he allergic to anything? Any outstanding medical issues that I should know about?"

"None," the older Turian said quickly. 

"Alright, I'll get him stable and bring him aboard. I won't perform surgery, he's lost too much blood. Without any Turian blood easily accessible for transfusion, it will be too risky. I'll place him in a medically induced coma until he can be returned to you, is that alright Mr...?"

"My name is Castis. Thank you, Doctor, truly. Please... Shepard.... I...."

"I'm going to end the call and get him stabilized now, Castis. Thank you for your help," Dr. Chakwas said as kindly as she could manage before hanging up. "Nothing like that kind of conversation to remind me why I became a doctor," she panted. "Lieutenant, keep pressure on the wound while we transport him to the ship."

Once on board, Dr. Chakwas pushed everyone out of her lab and began cauterizing the wound. Shepard stood guard outside the door.

"Shepard, we're not returning this Turian. We're not going anywhere near a Turian ship."  
  
"Sir, a show of good-will might just help us end this. If there is anything I've learned from this Turian, it's that peace might just be possible." 

"I'll give my superiors your report, and your opinion. But you've got to know the chances are slim. This is war, Shepard."

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Shepard had been keeping watch at the door for 4 hours when Anderson returned, with a solemn look on his face. "They've agreed not to just let him die, Shepard. But I'm not sure the alternative is better. He is to be woken up, interrogated, and then given no further medical assistance. We won't kill him outright, but if he dies from his injuries, the navy is hoping to do an autopsy to learn of their weaknesses."  
  
"What?!" Shepard yelled.

"The Turians have made it clear, they have no intentions for peaceful negotiations. 

"We don't know that!"

"I was in the room when we tried to send a white flag, Shepard. At first, the brass were willing to return Garrus if the Turians accepted certain conditions. They didn't even respond to the message, Shepard. Returning him won't help the Alliance. So, his interrogation and death might."

Shepard could barely believe what she was hearing.

"Sir, the Alliance is better than this."

"I agree, Shepard. To help him now is to disobey direct orders." Shepard glared at the man, and turned to go into the lab. "Shepard," he said, grabbing her arm. "Did you know that we have a small fighter attached to this ship? Only big enough for one or two people really, it's only meant to serve as a line of defense for this frigate if need be."

Shepard raised her brow at Anderson. "And did you know that we're scheduled to visit Mars tomorrow? That's as close as we've been to those Turian ships since this war started. Humanitarian run, dropping off supplies, etc."

Anderson let go of her arm and walked away. 

\---------------------------------------------------------

Shepard stood in the mess surrounded by her team. Ashley and Kaidan had ran to the mess hall as soon as they had heard she was back, and Joker wasn't too far behind them. "Is it true, you shot 11 of those Turian bastards? And took one as a prisoner?" Ashley said, a naive excitement in her voice. 

"No, 10 were already dead, 1 I never made contact with and don't know of it's location, and the other is here on the ship in the med lab." 

"Brave of you to take one alive, Skipper," Kaidan said softly.

"No, it's not like... he saved my life. A few times actually." 

"He what?" Kaidan said in confusion.

"I spent nearly 2 weeks down there. I did gather the intel I was assigned to, but... the Turian in there, well I got to know him."

"Why?" Ashley said, her face full of disgust.

"At first to gather my intel, but when you spend two weeks holed up with a soldier you talk."

"That thing isn't a soldier."

"Yes, he is. Just like us. He's just on the other side."

"The wrong side," Ashley.

"Listen, you guys trust me, right?"

"With my life, Ma'am," Kaidan said.

"Hell yeah, Ma'am," Ashely said quickly after.

"I'm telling you, that the Turian in there is just a soldier. And I think he's a good guy. He saved me. Turians, however violent and shitty they may be, are just people. They make mistakes. They have families they're trying to protect, just like us. Back on Earth when he was moments from dying, he called his dad. Just to hear his voice one more time. I don't know about you, but that sounds pretty damned human. And I told you, he saved me."

There was silence for a moment. "Well, if he saved your ass, I owe him a beer," Joker chimed in for the first time. Shepard gave him a small smile. "I trust you, Lieutenant. So if you trust him, that makes him the only Turian in the god damned galaxy that I trust."

"Same here," Kaidan said quickly.

"Be careful ma'am," Ashley said before walking away. 

Suddenly, a military MP and a skinny man in a lab coat tore through the mess and entered the med lab. "Gentleman, do me a favor, stay on our personal comms." 

"Aye, aye," Joker called out as he started walking slowly back towards the CIC. 

Kaidan gave a nod and sat at one of the tables nearby. 

Shepard pulled herself up to her full height and walked into the med lab.

"This is my patient, and until the Captain of this vessel says other wise, I will not leave this room. I don't care that you're military police, the god damned pope could walk in here and I wouldn't budge."

"What's going on here?" Shepard said loudly. Even the MP jumped out of his skin.

"I have been ordered to come and begin my work on the prisoner," the man in a lab coat said.

"Shepard, go speak with Anderson, quickly!" Dr Chakwas called out. 

Shepard ran out of the room to track him down. She ran up to the CIC and found him looking at the galaxy map. "Sir, are you aware..."

He held up a hand before she could finish. "It appears they aren't waiting till we get to Mars. They boarded us 10 minutes ago. This comes from high-up Shepard. I can't help." 

"But sir!" 

"I'm sorry, Lieutenant. I really am," he said, as he turned his back to keep looking at the map.

Shepard ran back to the med lab as quickly as she could. When she walked in, she was already horrified. Blue blood was already dripping from the cot as the Turian was gaining consciousness. 

"He is in incredible pain, and this thrashing about is only going to kill him quicker... you can't do this!"

"You need to leave ma'am'," the MP said to Dr Chakwas as he took her by the elbows, steering her out of the lab.

"Come on, Doctor," Shepard said, glaring at the MP. When they were out of the lab, Shepard turned to Karin. "Karin, can he survive a day of this?"

"A day? there's no way Shepard. Why? How will that help?"

"I need him to be ready for transport early tomorrow morning, when we reach Mars."

"Commander, you're not... are you..."

"It's nothing, Dr. Can you get me supplies to help him for a short trip?"

Karin looked at Shepard for a second, before steel met her eyes. "I can. I'll have it ready. But I'm not sure it will help if they don't go easy." 

"I'll do everything I can," Shepard said. "Alright boys, you there?" she said, touching the comms in her ear. 

"Reading you loud and clear, Shepard," Joker said. Kaidan made eye contact from across the mess and nodded.

"Alright, listen. If you don't want to be apart of something that will get you court marshaled, you need to butt out. But I could use some help."

"Hell, Shepard, you know I'm always up for trouble."

"Yeah, I figured as much Joker," Shepard chuckled.

Kaidan looked down at the table. "Shepard, why? Just let it go."

She looked over at him. "I can't do that, Kaidan. It isn't right. This isn't right."

"This is war Shepard. Nothing about it is right. But we do what has to be done so that innocents don't have to. His people are slaughtering us. We need more information. We need to get an upper-hand."

"I understand, Kaidan. But if we stoop to this level, we're no better than they are. We don't deserve to be saved."

"I'm sorry Shepard. I can't," the biotic said, and he got up to leave. "I know where my loyalties lie. Do you?" 

Shepard heard the click as Kaidan turned off his comms. "Alright Joker, I'm taking that spare fighter ship we've got tucked away. When the time comes, I need you to press the release button and set us free. Can you do that?"

"Got it." 

"I'll also need eyes and ears during our escape. We'll need the path of least resistance. Joker, you know this baby. Get me the best escape route. Karin, we'll have you posted somewhere in the middle as a look out. Is everyone clear?"

Dr Chakwas nodded, and Joker gave an affirmative. 

Shepard went back into the Med lab and nearly vomited. Garrus was on the cot screaming, while lab-coat guy was cutting into a plate. As he did so, he spoke to the MP. "Take note, pain tolerance is higher on this area of the body."

"Stop!" Shepard shouted. Right as she was about to attack, a second MP walked in behind her and grabbed her.

"We'll stop, when he answers our questions," the first MP said coldly. "Now Turian, what were you planning to do with the comm network you installed on our planet? Why is there a Turian ship so close to our Mars colony? Are you bastards planning on killing more of our colonists?"

Shepard's mind flashed back to her home there as a child, and she cringed. She thought of the battle of mars, her first battle, where she 'proved her mettle' to the brass... where she earned her reputation and a promotion. Where she killed more Turians than she could count. For the first time, she had mixed feelings about that.

Garrus glared at the MP and stayed silent. That's when the doctor stuck a scalpel in the bullet wound in Garrus' stomach, and the Turian screamed in agony once more. "You know, once we're one gathering this information on which areas to hit hardest, we're going to cut you open like a fish and play with your insides. See what makes you tick, Turian. By the time I'm done, I'll be able to create a Turian-specific bio-weapon. Everyone you've ever cared about will die a horrific, poisonous death."

Shepard couldn't take anymore. She shoved her elbow into the MP's stomach and flipped him over her body, slamming him down to the ground. She heard the wind knocked out of his lungs and moved to the scientist. She landed a hard punch to the face before the first MP tried to land a punch, but she dodged and crouched low to the ground, sweeping his legs out from him.

"ENOUGH!" Anderson bellowed as he entered. Everyone stopped. "You may have orders, but this is still my ship. What kind of medieval shit is this? We don't torture living things. We don't do this. Not on my ship. You'll have to wait until the prisoner is moved to our next location. Until then, get the hell out of my med lab."

"You don't have the authority!" the lab coat tried to interject.

"I'm pretty sure I've got an entire ship's worth of soldiers ready to challenge you on that." Shepard pulled her gun and pointed it at the scientist. "Dr Avery, take your MPs and get out. I'll even give you my quarters until we make it to our destination."

The two MPs saluted and started out the door, the scientist on their heels. Anderson followed, "I'll escort our guests," he mumbled as he left.

As soon as the doors shut, Shepard ran over to the cot, "Shit... shit... shit Garrus, I'm... God, I'm so sorry... I... I didn't think this would happen."

Garrus was too busy coughing up blood to respond, and she tried to ease him back on the cot. Dr Chakwas ran in and immediately started working on patching him up. 

"What's the plan, Shepard?" Dr Chakwas asked. 

"The same as before. Anderson will keep them away until we've made our move. This whole thing was kind of his idea, so I'm sure he'll leave a small window open for us between shifts so that the pathways are more clear." Garrus looked over at her, his brow plate raised in a question. He tried to speak, but started coughing again.

"Hush dear, don't speak. You're bleeding internally now. You need to move as little as possible. I'm going to try and stop it once I've got my tools ready."

Shepard saw a... was that a scared expression cloud his face? She reached out and lightly took his hand. He blinked at her in surprise. "Garrus, I want you to know... this isn't who my people are. They're just scared. They're backed into a corner and they're lashing out. But I swear, I'm gonna get you out of here. The people of this ship, we're going to help you escape, ok?" His hand was warm, and calloused. She could see the intricate palm print, the slightly more delicate skin on his wrist. This was no creature, no, he was very human. She was going to have to change the terminology in her head.

Garrus expression softened a bit. "First thing tomorrow morning, we're making a break for it. Me and you, ok?"

Garrus' eyes slowly closed. "He's loosing consciousness. Tomorrow morning, I'll give him some stims to get him moving, but it will accelerate his condition. After I give him the stims, there's no stopping it. You've got to get him to his people within a few hours, or he'll die. Do you think you can do that?" Karin asked, steel in her eyes. 

"We don't have a choice," Shepard said with determination. 


	6. The Traitor Stands Worse

Shepard entered the observation deck, and saw Anderson staring out the window into the stars, and she joined him.

"Sir, how can this war have only been 3 months, when it feels like years?"

"Shepard, if there is ever a time war doesn't feel like that to you, it's time to hang up your boots. It's an awful, bloody business. But if we didn't fight it, our children would."

Shepard nodded slowly. That's why she had joined the Alliance. So that more kids could be saved, just like she had been. 

"Shepard, I received some intel on our Turian Prisoner, and I'm not sure that you're aware of it. Do you know the name Archangel?"

Shepard scoffed. "Archangel? Sure. Every soldier that was in the Mars battle knows that name. That sniper killed more humans in an hour than the rest of his squad did in two days. Rumor is, Archangel was the squad leader of a special tasks group. That day, they happened to be tasked with ending the battle. They were successful." 

"Did you ever see him yourself?"

"No. No one did, sir. He was like a ghost. If you saw him, it probably meant you were already dead, you just didn't know it yet. Damn impressive bastard...." Shepard stopped short. "Sir... why?"

Anderson looked down with a sigh, "Shepard, you're prisoner is Archangel."

Shepard took a step back. "What?"

Anderson nodded and gazed back at her. "Intelligence teams have gathered enough intel to confirm Archangel's identity as one, Garrus Vakarian. That's why the brass want him so much. That's why they're willing to do whatever it takes. He's got to have intel. And if he's the Turian's best and brightest and we've got him... hell we could win this thing Shepard."

Archangel had killed 3 of her men on Mars. She had to take their dog tags back to their families on Earth. Shepard sat down with a huff. "Sir... I ..." she hung her head in her hands.

"That's war, Shepard."

\-----------------------------------------------------------

"Shepard, shouldn't you be getting some sleep before the morning?" Dr Chakwas asked as Shepard silently entered the med lab. 

"Wake him up," Shepard said quietly. 

"That's not a goo.."

"Wake. Him. Up." Shepard looked at Karin. "Karin, please."

Dr Chakwas nodded and injected him with something. Garrus stirred slightly, gasping for air. Shepard could hear the blood in his lungs. 

Garrus looked at her in confussion... "Shepard?"

She starred at him. "Archangel."

Garrus froze, his eyes wide, his mandibles pulled tightly to his face.

"I was there, you know. I was on Mars that day. You killed three of my men. I had to drag their bodies back home to their families."

"We had to take plenty of dead Turians home that day too, Shepard," Garrus wheezed. 

Shepard looked down. "Garrus, how can I save you when you killed my team?"

He looked down too. "I won't blame you if you don't, Shepard. If I could see the bastard that killed my squad burn, I would." 

"Not going to try and justify it then?"

"What do you want from me, Shepard? It's war. And I'm a damned good soldier." He paused then. "I do know one thing though," he said softly. Shepard peered up at him. "If my CO ordered me to kill you, I wouldn't do it. If I saw you across the battlefield through my scope, I wouldn't pull the trigger. And if I get out of this shit alive, I'll do everything I can to make sure this war ends. Maybe we can help each other with that, so that none of the rest of the people we care about has to die."

Shepard half smirked. "That's what I was hoping to hear," she said. She reached her hand out, "Peace starts here, with us. If we really want peace, we have to set aside grudges, and let go of the past." He took her hand, unsure of the gesture. "It's a symbol," she said. "A gesture of peace and cooperation." 

He nodded. "I... I am sorry, Shepard."

"Me too," she said, nodding towards his injuries. 

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Alright, Doctor. This is it," Shepard said as she entered the med lab. "Joker, you copy?"

"Copy, Shepard. Your path will be clear in about 1 minute. Radio in when you've arrived, and I'll punch in the release code."

Dr Chakwas injected Garrus with the stims, and he was awake in 20 seconds. "Shepard?" he asked, more clearly than yesterday. 

"Those stims work fast, Doc," Shepard said in surprise.

"They sure do. And they'll wear off fast too. You've got a solid 2 hours before he looses that energy and goes into critical condition."

"Damn," Garrus said, a sarcastic grin on his face.

"Clear," Joker's voice rang out over the comms. 

"Alright Big Guy, let's go," Shepard said as she quickly left the room, Garrus on her six. 

They took off through the first main hall before entering a crawl space to get to the shuttle bay. Garrus grunted as he crawled through the space, clearly not meant for someone of his size. 

Shepard held up a fist as she scouted the Shuttle bay through the grate. She waited for the last person of the shift to leave, and gave a signal to move. They jogged over to the fighter. "It's going to be a tight squeeze. It's meant for one human, not a human and a Turian," Shepard whispered. "You go in first, then I'll sit in front of you to fly." 

Garrus nodded and jumped into the cockpit. 

"Hey Shepard," a voice called out. Shepard froze and turned around slowly. "Found something I thought you might be interested in. No promises that it will work, but, here's to hoping," Anderson said as he handed her a new distress beacon.

"Thank you, Sir."

"Alright, see you around," he said casually as he turned to leave.

Shepard jumped into the cock-pit and positioned herself between Garrus' legs. "Never thought I'd sit on a Turian's lap," she joked. 

"That makes two of us," he said back, that same sarcastic tone from earlier.

Shepard grinned. "Alright, Joker."

Suddenly, the console turned green and the locks released. Shepard punched in a command and the shuttle doors started opening. She punched though before they were even completely open, and soared out into the stars.

"This thing looks ancient, are you sure it's safe for space travel?"

"This old girl, sure. She'll make it." Shepard punched in the last known coordinates of the Turian vessel. "Alright, it looks like 45 minutes till we get to the Turian ship. If they're not there, we'll both die out here. You a little faster though," she joked. When there was no response, she looked over her shoulder to see his head bobbing down. "Hey! Stay with me, Big Guy!" 

"Mmm.." he said. She poked him lightly with her elbow. "I'm up. Just resting. Need help flying a ship? I know you humans are new at this."

"Please, flying's not new. I've been flying fighters since I was 15. You're in good hands. Now, let's talk to keep you awake. Tell me about your dad, he seems nice."

"What? What do you mean, he seems nice?"

"Oh, I forgot you were unconscious. Yeah, you didn't hang up before you passed out, how embarrassing. He told me lots of embarrassing stories about you from your childhood. I have to say, I'm not shocked." She felt a deep rumble resonating throughout his entire body. "Whoa, what the hell was that exactly?"

"My subharmonics? Oh, humans can't hear them, that's right. But you can feel the vibrations from the sound? Weird. Turians have subharmonic hearing and speaking capabilities. Another layer of communication, I guess." 

"That's pretty cool actually. That reminds me, how do your translators know English?"

"Ah. Yeah, our intelligence and reconnaissance teams have been monitoring your planet's radio systems. It wasn't difficult to put into our translation system. So, did you actually talk to my dad, or are you just messing with me?"

"Ah. Yeah, I did. It took me a second to realize your omni-tool was still on a call when I was trying to stop the bleeding. I couldn't hear him at first, but I heard a noise... I think he was really upset, maybe he thought you were already dead. Must be tough listening to your kid die on a omni-call. He talked us through getting your armor off to stop the bleeding. What was his name.. Castis?"

"Damn. Yeah, that's him." 

"He'll be really happy to hear your voice, Garrus. So, what's he like?"

"Wait, he talked you through taking off my armor? He trusted you? He... jeopardized a mission to help me?"

"I take it all of those things are surprising. Yes to all of it though. He heard me protect you over the call, he knew I was trying to save you. And, I don't know what your dad is normally like, but I have to believe that no matter what species you are, paternal instincts are strong. He wanted you safe. Consequences be damned."

"I... that's surprising. Turians don't jeopardize missions, even if it's their own life, or the life of a loved one. The need of the many outweigh the needs of a single person or family. Every Turian joins the military at 15. Every person contributes."

"Hmm," Shepard said thoughtfully. "I get it, it's just different." 

"So what about you, any family?"

Shepard was quiet for a moment. "Not anymore."

Garrus tensed. "The... the war?"

"No, no. My own stupid species. A long time ago." 

"I'm sorry," Garrus said softly. She felt his three fingers wrap around her shoulder. She realized how tense she was, trying to stay as far away from him as possible while practically sitting in his lap. 'What the hell', she said to herself, 'its going to be a long flight.'

She leaned slowly against his chest armor, "Is this ok? It doesn't hurt you, right?"

"Yeah, that's fine. Long flight," he said, the dual toned voice gaining greater dissonance. She could imagine his mandibles pinning to his face, and she smirked. "Hey, I'm really glad you came into the med lab when you did Shepard. That lab-coat guy said he was going to peel my plates off, and I've got to tell you, not a fan."

She forced out a small chuckle, "Yeah. Jesus, how sick." She took a hand and squeezed his leg. "I'm so sorry," she said softly. Her eyes stung. How was she getting emotional over fucking Archangel right now? She should want him dead. She shouldn't care. But seeing someone tortured like that. Hearing his screams. It just wasn't right. It didn't matter who it was, or what race they were. 

"Shepard, how are you getting out of this? My people will capture you. Even if you somehow make it back to your people..."

"Yeah, I'll be tried and punished. Maybe stripped of my position. The only life I've ever known. I don't know Garrus, I haven't thought that far ahead. I'm just trying to survive one day at a time."

"Will... will your people try and tear my skin off?" she shuddered.

She felt the vibrations of his subharmonics, stronger than ever. "I'd like to see them try," he nearly growled. He took a breath. "No, we're going to convince them together that you are an asset. That peace is possible."

"I would have thought the same thing about my people," she whispered. She felt his hand cover hers, the one still on his leg. "I'll protect you," he said. 

"You'll be passed out on a med table," she tried to laugh. 

He pulled up his omni-tool. "This is Garrus Vakarian, code-name Archangel. I have been rescued by the human known as Lieutenant Shepard. She has risked her life to get me to a Turian Vessel, and has saved my life countless times. She is flying me to this vessel, because if she doesn't I will die. Risking her life to save mine. She should not, under any circumstances, be harmed. I was on a mission given to me directly from the Primarch. This message should be forwarded to him should I be put into surgery or die." He stopped the recording and started coughing hard. Shepard saw blue blood splatter on his omni-tool.

"Garrus.." she said, and he sighed, leaning back further in the seat.

"Those stims are wearing off, Shep," he wheezed. 

"Hold on, Garrus. Just hold on. We're 5 minutes out. Look, you can see the ship!"

He peered out and saw it. "Shepard, they'll fire on an Alliance vessel. Stop, turn off the engines, and coast in. Does this thing have a radio?"

"Yeah, here," she pointed as she turned off the propulsion system.

Garrus started changing the settings until he came across a faint channel. "This is Garrus Vakarian, codename Archangel. I am approaching this vessel in an unidentified Alliance fighter. Do not shoot, I repeat do not shoot."

The held their breath for a moment, before they heard the crackle in the comms. "Garrus Vakarian, we need confirmation, please give us your military ID number and your Archangel code."

"Military ID 100-Echo-56-Delta-1 , Archangel code : Justice"

"Confirmed, Archangel, you are cleared for landing, do you copy?"

.......

Shepard glanced back at Garrus, who was out cold. "Shit!" She grabbed the radio. "We copy. Archangel is in need of medical attention immediately. Where should we land?"

"Who is this?" 

"I'm.... I'm his prisoner. But he's passed out." 

"Uh.... Copy. You are cleared to land. If we see any weapons powering up we will fire, do you copy?"

"Yeah, yeah. I copy. Just make sure you have a doctor ready to go, he's in bad shape, ok?"

"Uh... ok," the Turian sounded confused. 

Shepard landed the ship, and said a silent prayer before opening up the cockpit. She saw at least 30 Turians pointing their rifle at her. 

"Listen to his message," she said as she put her hands up.


	7. To Thine Own Self

Garrus came to slowly. He peered into the room, the dimmed lights still feeling too bright. He groaned as he tried to sit up. "Ah, good to see you moving, Vakarian."

"Commander?" Garrus asked slowly, trying to remember how he got here.

"Spirits, Garrus, I've never seen anyone that close to death pull through. You're a fighter, through and through." 

Garrus pushed himself up more quickly, "Shepard?"

"Ah, before we get to that, I want you to know that I understand you did your best on Earth. That one of our own betrayed us, and somehow you still got the whole system running on your own. Damned fine work, son. It's too bad those squishy bastards got to you, or this war would be over by now, and we'd have ourselves a new colony."

"Shepard?" he asked again, "Where is she?"

"Ah. I'm afraid we didn't hear your message until it was too late, Vakarian. Once we saw your condition, and we had discovered her identity, it was decided it would be best if she were interrogated more quickly and disposed of."

"Di...disposed of?" Garrus said softly, his head spinning. 

"Yes. I understand that she brought you back, but if it weren't for her you wouldn't have been captured in the first place, am I right? So did she really rescue you?"

"Yes," Garrus said, starting to get the feeling back in his body after the initial shock.

"Well, did you know that Shepard was the soldier responsible for the Mars battle?"

"What?"

"You've heard of the human soldier that led the charge? That held opposition to our forces for two days before you arrived? That was her. Nearly every human escaped while she held that position. She was a bloody menace, and she was getting in the way."

"I..."

"She killed 100s of Turians single-handedly, Garrus. There's no way we could keep her." 

Garrus sat in stunned silence. He had wanted to keep her safe. He had told her he would protect her. "I need to see the footage."

Garrus' CO sighed. "I thought as much. Here," the Turian said as he handed Garrus a data pad.

Garrus pressed play with shaky fingers. 

He saw a black and white vid of their fighter jet landing. He saw her put her hands up, and talk. He saw an officer walk up slowly, and shoot her in the shoulder. She went down hard, squirming and clutching her shoulder on the ground. Garrus felt his heart rate skyrocket, heard it pounding in his head. He clicked on the next vid file. He saw her tied to a chair, saw a Turian officer walk up and punch her hard in the gut. She stared at the Turian in defiance, her eyes blazing and fiery. Suddenly, another Turian came into view with a knife and sliced open her skin all the way down her arm, then again down the other arm.

Garrus felt nauseous. He had thought his people were better than this. He could hear her voice in his mind, telling him she had thought the same about her people. He watched the knife carve her so easily, with no effort at all. Humans were so soft, their skin so fragile. The first Turian started beating her, punching her in the stomach and face. Red blood pooled on the ground around her.

"Why...." he barely got out.

"She was a high-ranking official. She knew of your location. We needed to know how that happened."

"We do know! Fucking Sidonis happened!"

"He didn't do it alone, Garrus. He had help. In addition to that, she had intel on human commands and communications, and information on the top ranking officials in their military. Unfortunately, humans are even more fragile than we had previously thought, at least without armor and medigel. She died before we could get any of the intel we were after."

Garrus watched the life leave her eyes as the Turian lashed out with his talons leaving 3 long gashes along her face and neck. Her body slumped in the chair. The second Turian walked up, shaking her lifeless body, with no response.

"I'm sorry, Garrus. It's not easy to watch. But this is war."

Garrus' heart-rate skyrocketed. He saw spots in his vision from anger. How could they have done this to her? 

The machines he was attached to started beeping wildly. "Ok, that's enough for one visit. You have to leave, now. The patient needs rest," the nurse said, pushing his CO out. 

"Why... how could you?!" Garrus shouted, trying to get up off the bed.

"No you don't," another nurse said as she injected him with a sedative. He slumped back down on the bed and faded fast.

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

_Garrus walked up to Private Liantiv with a cool confidence. "How about a tie-breaker, Private? My quarters - tonight?"_

_Liantiv leveled him with a hot gaze. "Sounds good, Vakarian. How about right now?"_

_He rose a brow-plate at her. "After you," he said, as he let her lead the way. He really just wanted to stare at that waist as she walked towards his quarters._

_"You've got quite the reputation, you know" Liantiv said softly against his neck as they rode the elevator down to his quarters._

_"Oh?" he asked, nipping hard at her shoulder plate._

_"That you always have a good time, a good night, right before a big mission," she said, nipping at his neck._

_"What can I say," he said as he pushed her hard against the wall. "I like to have a good time."_

_It's not that Garrus slept around, not really. Just before each big mission, he liked to ease some tension, work off some stress. And nothing did that like a night with a sexy woman. He didn't have any interest in a real relationship, no girlfriends to speak of. He wasn't all about the commitment. His lifestyle didn't really support that anyway. Not with the military life. And he loved the missions. Loved the thrill of a sniper rifle in his hands. He wouldn't trade it for anything. So, he was happy that so many other soldiers found him attractive. Finding a girl for the night-before was easy._

_And Liantiv wasn't easy. She made him chase her, and he loved it. He didn't flirt well, but in the military you didn't need to. Skill and athleticism did the trick. He stared her down as he took a shot, brushed past her during morning laps. By the time the actual night came around, she was chasing just as much as he was._

_"And what about the girls? Do they have a good time?"_

_"Lia," he growled against her, "A gentlemen doesn't tell. But what I can tell you, is that you'll be screaming in a few minutes. And having a hard time with our morning jog tomorrow."_

_"That confident in your abilities, Vakarian?"_

_"Very much so," he said as he scraped his talons along her waist, and she moaned into his ear canal. He picked her up as the elevator doors opened, and brought her into his cabin. And he made good on his promise._

_\--------------------------------------------------------------------------_

Garrus woke suddenly, gasping for air. It took him a moment to realize that he wasn't with Private Liantiv, and the weight of reality crushed him. The nurse came over right away, "How are you feeling" she asked. 

It all came back at once. The mission. Sidonis. Shepard..... Shepard. He put his head in his hands, holding in the keening threatening to leave his chest. 

"There, there, it's alright, you're safe. I... I saw the marks.... they tortured you. I'm so sorry. You're safe now." Her subharmonics rang out in a soothing tone. She didn't realize that he was upset for Shepard, not himself, but the subharmonic tones soothed him regardless.

"I need to... call my father," he scratched out.  
  
"Yes, of course. Here's your omni-tool. If you need me I'll be right outside, just buzz." 

He punched in his dad's number, and sat there for a moment before pressing send. Finally, he took a deep breath hit the button.

 _"Garrus?!"_ his father answered almost right away.

Garrus voice got stuck in his throat, and he nearly choked.

 _"Please, spirits, tell me it's you,"_ his father's voice sounded raw. 

"I'm here, dad," he choked out. 

_"Thank the Spirits, Garrus. Where are you? Are you ok?"_

"I..." Garrus choked back again, but the keening sound escaped him. "I'm .... I don't know, some Turian ship. I think we're headed back to Palavan."

_"Good, I'll find out, son. I'll be waiting for you. It's going to be alright."_

"Dad, they... they killed her... I... I couldn't stop them... I failed my mission, I failed at... everything," he choked out, and started coughing hard, blood splattering over his hands. He couldn't breathe, couldn't see. 

_"Garrus... Garrus, son breathe."_

More blood dribbled down his mouth-plates, and he felt a sharp pain in his side. He barely managed the nurses button, and she ran in.

"Oh Spirits!" She called out, "Doctor, get in here! He's hemorrhaging!"

_"Garrus, don't do this to me, son. Come on, you have to fight."_

"It's alright sir, your son's in safe hands. He needs another surgery. We're scheduled to reach Palavan in two hours, he'll need the surgery there. We'll get him stabilized and prepped for Criptine Memorial."

 _"Thank you, I'll be there,"_ his father called out before hanging up.

"Garrus, you have to relax. Lie back down, we're going to get you stabilized." 

Garrus' mind was reeling. How had he let this happen? Was he a bad Turian for caring so much about the fate of one human? He couldn't tell anyone the reason why he was so distraught. Or maybe he had to. He had to finish this without her.


	8. Be True

Garrus awoke in a hospital room. He could tell just from the light streaming through the window that he was home. Palavan. Criptine. It had been too long. 

"Garrus?" he heard his father's subvocals wavering softly.

"Dad?" his throat was dry, and he only heard one of his normally two-toned voice. He sounded weak. He sounded defeated. At least that was appropriate.

"Don't try to move around, son. You lost a lot of blood."

Garrus opened his eyes to see his father sitting in the chair next to him, an IV connecting the two of them. "Giving you some of mine so we don't loose you," his father said, his voice uncharacteristically uncertain and emotional. 

"Thanks, dad," he croaked. He shut his eyes tightly, trying to fight back the wave of emotions assaulting him. He didn't even hear as his mother and sister peered in the room, only to be waved off by his father.

"Those phone calls Garrus... those were the hardest 5 minutes and 32 seconds of my life." Garrus opened his eyes to peer at his father. He had never heard so much emotion in his subvocals before. "Garrus, I don't care about your mission. I don't care about what you think you failed to do. I'm glad you're home, son. I'm..." his father stopped short, choking off his subharmonics that had already betrayed too much emotion. "You're a good son. You're a good man. And I'm glad you're alive."

Garrus couldn't speak, hell he couldn't even keep his eyes open, but he knew his subharmonics told his father everything he needed to say. He heard his father's subharmonics ring back in acceptance. He felt light headed, and slipped back into unconsciousness.

\---------------------------------------------------------------------

The next time Garrus woke up, it was the dead of night. His father slept in the same chair but the IV was removed. His mother and sister laid on a couch at the end of the room. He was home. Surrounded by family. He was luckier than he deserved. 

"Garrus?" he heard his father ask.

"Hey dad, sorry, I didn't mean to wake you up." 

"Nah, been sleeping on and off all day. You've been out for 32 hours now."

"Oh, wow, really?" 

His father nodded. After a moment, his father cleared his throat, "Listen son, you know I've seen war. I've been on difficult missions. I've seen terrible things during my time with C-Sec. If you tell me what happened, I won't judge you for it."

Garrus looked down, "I'm not so sure about that, dad."

Castis took his sons hand. "I am." 

Garrus slowly told his father about his mission.

"So let me get this straight. Sidonis betrayed you? Gave away your location, was picked up by a band of mercs, killed the rest of your squad, shot you, and is still out there somewhere?"

"Yeah, that's about it, Dad. I'm sure he got paid a handsome amount by the humans to sell us out, enough to hire the mercs to take him anywhere he wanted to go and still have enough to be comfortable."

"Ok, so you're wounded, stranded on Earth. And then you what... continue your mission despite the now terrible odds? Knowing your location has been compromised?"

"Yes. I moved as far away as I could in my condition, but it was difficult carrying equipment meant to be carried by a squad of 12. I set up defenses and a perimeter, and did the work of 12 people, in 19 days with no help. And if that's where the story ended, I'd be a spirits-damned hero." 

"Nothing in life is that easy, son. So, the humans found you."

"Shepard found me."

"Ah, Shepard. Now there's a human I need to thank. I was listening Garrus. When everyone was shooting at you, when you were down for the count, she threw herself in front of you. Defended you. Got you medical attention. So what happened?"

Garrus swallowed the lump of guilt forming in his throat and told his father the rest of the story. Once he had finished, his father stood up and began to pace. "They... they beat her to death?"

"Not before cutting her open and letting her bleed out," Garrus growled bitterly. 

Castis shook his head in disbelief. "Garrus, I know that this is war. That we do things... we're not proud of... to save the lives of innocents. But this seems... I don't know. It seems like there is something else here, something they're not telling us." Castis was a brilliant detective. He could follow the clues down any rabbit-hole and come out the other side with all the answers. "There's evidence missing here, Garrus, I'm telling you. Maybe it's classified. Maybe they can't tell you." 

"Dad, I... I just don't care. She didn't deserve that death. I... I...," he tried but couldn't get the words out. He put his head in his hands.

His father walked back over to his bedside. "You didn't fail her Garrus, the people in that interrogation room did. You did everything you could, son. You can't feel guilty for surviving."

"Garrus?" a soft, groggy voice chirped. 

"Sol," he whispered back.

"Garrus!" she jumped up and ran over. She stopped just short of hugging him, not wanting to hurt him, and placed her hands over his. "You're awake," she nearly cried, her subharmonics ringing wildly. 

His mother walked over, pressing her forehead to his, "Welcome home, Son," she said softly, instantly recognizing the sorrow in his subharmonics that his sister had missed. He heard the soothing subharmonics his mother was sending his way, and he closed his eyes as he pressed his forehead back against hers.

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Two weeks had passed by the time Garrus was released from the hospital. His father picked him up, and Garrus asked him to pull the car to the side of the road. "Why, what is it?" Castis asked with slight concern in his subvocal.

"Dad, I can't sit with this..."

His father looked at him thoughtfully. "Garrus, I understand your perspective. I do. But pushing for anything other than sound tactical strategies as a Turian is dangerous."

Garrus started to interrupt but his father stopped him, "No, listen. If it were just that I wouldn't stop you. I've raised you to do what's right, not what is easy. But Garrus, I'm not sure this is what is right. What happened to you is an isolated incident. Shepard was a remarkable person. But from what we've seen, she isn't the norm. She isn't the majority of her people. The Hierarchy is worried that if we make peace, and they join the council, they will take us down a dark path. They need to be held in check."

"Perhaps. But war is too drastic. It's too violent to justify."

Castis looked at his son and sighed. "You'll be the death of me." 

\----------------------------------------------------------------------

Castis had arranged a meeting with the Primarch, and didn't come home until late. Garrus was waiting for him at the kitchen table. Casits sat down with a heavy sigh. "I've got... interesting... bad news. It turns out that when this war first started, the humans were quite successful in a stealth operation the resulted in the destruction of one of our ships that was guarding the 314 relay. This was after first contact. Our military stopped them from activating the relay at the last moment by firing. The humans returned fire. All but one of their ships was destroyed. That ship escaped, telling their military of us and the destruction of their other ships. All of our ships at the 314 relay were destroyed within 48 hours. It wasn't full out war, it was stealthy. Our crews were still asleep when the ships started to suffer extensive explosive damage. Then, in the chaos, the humans descended on our ships. No one survived, Garrus. The hierarchy decided swift action must be taken. We can't let our ships and people be destroyed so easily."

"The humans could say the same," Garrus interrupted. 

"But we aren't human, Garrus. Those were our people. When we discovered the weapons and violent tendency this species had, the Turian Hierarchy was left wondering what this species could do if allowed to ascend, or Spirits-forbid join the council. His father sighed, "But I have a feeling that... this was a matter of pride. The Turians are the military might of the galaxy. It would be embarrassing to say the least. Therefore... I don't think the councilor or the council itself are aware of this war."  
  
"What?!" Garrus shouted. 

"If they were to be informed, our people would be in trouble Garrus. The Turian hierarchy as let this get out of control. Technically, since the Humans didn't activate the 314 relay, they haven't ascended to what the council would consider an ascended race. We're fighting an unfair war. The council will step in sooner or later. The sooner they find out, the sooner the war ends. The hierarchy can wait until we've practically won the war, so that we're in a better position. If not, we would loose standing in the galaxy. It could end up leaving us vulnerable. It would be dangerous for our people."

Garrus stood up quickly, "What people? The hierarchy? Or our soldiers who are dying on the ground? Like my team? Or the human lives that are being lost?"  
  
"Garrus, before you take action, reflect. Yes, it is wrong. But what will happen to our people... innocent people? If we are left vulnerable, innocent people will pay the price. Not the hierarchy."

"Innocent people are already paying the price dad. Our soldiers. Human soldiers. Human civilians, the war is on their turf after-all."

Casits nodded. "Be sure that you are ready for the consequences Garrus. How you are feeling about Shepard's death... it could be many more innocent Turians on the line. Not to mention your career, your standing in the hierarchy." Garrus held back an eye roll at that last part, and merely sighed.

He turned and walked slowly to his room. He thought about Shepard. About how far they had come in such a short time. He wouldn't let her death be in vain. He gently place a hand over his aching wound. "This is for you, Shepard. And once I stop this war, I'll track down your body and make sure it's returned to your people. I'll get you home," he whispered.

Garrus got on his omni-tool and hacked into the Turian councilor's private number.

The Turian answered, groggy and confused. _"Yes, who is this?"_

"Sir, I just need a moment, don't hang up. My name is Garrus Vakarian.

_"Vakarian? Are you related to Castis?"_

"Yes, he is my father."

_"What's this all about, Garrus?"_


	9. My Days Are Past the Best

Councilor Aletus straightened to his full height, while clenching his fists behind his back. “Primarch, you mean to tell me that the Council wasn’t informed immediately upon first contact?”

“That is correct, Councilor. I hope you can realize that this knowledge is being brought to you as soon as we were able. The human’s violence caught us by surprise.”

“First of all Primarch, I will pretend that you did not just say that the Turian military was caught by surprise by an inferior race. You may be a brilliant strategist, but politician you are not. We’ll need to work on that pathetic story. Secondly, I’ll also pretend like you don’t take me for a naive fool. The only reason you are here is because your secret was being leaked by anonymous sources, and you’re trying to get out in front of it to save your ass.”

The Primarch shifted uneasily, an action not taken lightly by Aletus. The Primarch was notoriously unflinching. Aletus suppressed a small grin, but let his subharmonics ring with the smallest hint of smugness. “Make no mistake, we will deal with your lack of responsibility and honor soon enough. For now, we need to deal with this mess and save our image.” 

Aletus turned to look out the window and took a deep breath. “Damn it,” he sighed. “Tell me everything.”

\-----------------------------------------------------------

Garrus knew he’d never be important enough to get into the Council chambers. If anything, he needed to avoid it. His presence would be questionable, and if he wanted his anonymity to stay intact, he should not be seen. But that didn’t mean he didn’t have a friend or two. He pulled up his omni-tool. “Come on, Nihlus,” he muttered to himself. 

Suddenly, he heard a knock on his door and he jumped nearly half a meter into the air. He quickly shut down his omni-tool.

“Come in,” he said softer than he had meant. 

Sol popped her head through the door. “Making dinner, you want some?”

“No, but thanks Sol.”

She smiled and closed the door. Being home had been… surprisingly nice. But now, he just needed to be alone. And he needed…

*Ping*

Garrus flipped on his omni-tool and saw a link from Nihuls. “Yes!” Garrus whispered, “Way to go, Nih!” He clicked the link and a live feed of the council chambers popped up. Nihlus had to be in the back somewhere. It wasn’t a great view, but he could hear everything. He heard the Asari Councilor loud and clear.

_'It still remains unclear to me why this is the first we are hearing of this. It has been weeks of fighting if I understand the timeline correctly. Months even. It is a well known fact that first-contact is made through the council if at all possible. And if not, the council is to be informed immediately.”_

_“Councilor, I assure you, the relay would have been activated. We decided, for the safety of the galaxy and peace of our worlds, that it was more important to ensure the relay remain inactive. We tried to peacefully deal with the fallout of that decision, but were shocked by the chaos and violence of these humans.”_

Garrus could hear a few shouts from the three humans that were in the room, but the Asari Councilor rose her hand and addressed them. _"We have invited you here to represent your race, however you are not a council race. You must wait quietly or you will be removed."_

_“Could they not say the same of you, Primarch?” the Salarian Councilor chimed in. “I imagine in their eyes, they were suddenly attacked without provocation. And if this is their first alien contact, it would surely be a terrifying situation.”_

_“We understand that, I assure you. It was a bad situation, with little options, and none that were good.”_

_“Perhaps, Primarch, but why the delay in communication with us? Regardless of the circumstances.”_

_“We wished to have more information, Councilors. We wished to provide more, as a military asset to our galaxy, in terms of peace and information being brought to the table.”_

The Councilors turned off their microphones for a moment. The camera shifted, and Garrus could see the councilors clearly. The Asari and Salarian weren’t buying it. But their hands were tied. What was in the past couldn’t be changed. They turned their mics back on and the Turian councilor spoke.

_“We want to make it clear. The council is not in support of this conflict, and we publicly condemn the Hierarchy' s withholding of vital information regarding first contact. And we will be keeping this in mind throughout the upcoming inquisition. However, our priority at this point is regaining control of the situation, brokering peace, and determining where this new race fits into council space. It is now known that this race is not nearly as advanced as what would require the military might of the Turian army. Why were they dealt with in such force? This could be seen as a war crime, Primarch. Why risk that?”_

_“I assure you, Councilors, upon first contact the nature of this race was unclear. They were in possession of highly advanced technology. We have determined that a short time ago, they discovered Prothean technology on a nearby planet which prompted spurred growth and technological advancement in spaceflight and weaponry. They appeared extremely advanced when approached and engaged with. We had no idea that their advancements were superficial. Many Turians died, Councilors.”_

_The Councilors turned off their microphones again and talked for a few moments before continuing._

_“We will now speak with the Human admiral. Admiral Drescher, please step forward.”_

Garrus saw a man approach the Primarch. He tensed, his military training kicking in to protect the leader of the Hierarchy. But the human man appeared so small next to the Primarch, his grey hair indicating advanced years. 

_“Admiral Drescher, we would like to apologize for the rude and abrupt welcome your race received into our galaxy. While it may not appear like it so far, we are a peaceful people. I’m sure the significance of the 314 relay has been made known to you?”_

_“It has,” the man said gruffly._

_“The decision to attack was not made lightly. And if another course of action could have been made in time, every effort would have been made to do so. The continuation of the conflict is unacceptable, on both sides, and the council is officially declaring this conflict terminated. We will be having a series of meetings between the Turian Hierarchy, the Alliance Navy, and the Council to determine what needs to be done for recovery on both sides, and reparations that will be made to the Humans.” The Asari Councilor gave a stern look towards the Primarch on that last part._

_“I must demand that the Turians leave earth and our space, Council. We have no interest in being colonized or ruled.”_

_“Of course,” the Turian Councilor replied quickly._

_The Primarch took a small step forward. “I will give the order immediately, as long as we have their word not to activate the relays.”_

_The Admiral nodded. “You would have had that right away if we had known,” he said, anger radiating from him._

_“This inquisition is now over. We will move to our private conference center to conduct negotiations and reparations. Later on, we will also be meeting with the Human Alliance to integrate the humans into council space more appropriately and peacefully.” The Asari councilor said, before any more heated words could be exchanged._

The feed suddenly cut out, and Garrus sent a quick message to Nihlus. _‘Thanks’_

Garrus took a deep breath and slowly walked to his father’s office. His father looked up from his paper work with knowing eyes. “The war is over,” Garrus whispered. 

His father nodded and looked down thoughtfully. “Your actions helped inspire peace. Many Turians wouldn’t consider that a great honor. Worthwhile, yes. But war heroes are in the history books of our people, not the peacemakers.” Garrus huffed and turned back towards the door. “But you’re a hero in my book,” the older Turian said, before clearing his throat and diving back into the paperwork. Garrus couldn’t help the small rumbles of pride from his subharmonics as he walked out. 

\-----------------------------------------

Garrus lifted his duffel bag and checked over his childhood bedroom one last time. If he had learned anything in the past year, it was that he may never see this place again. After the formal inquisition, peace came quickly enough even if animosity and tensions remained high. He had never thought it possible for a Primarch to be on such thin ice. Reparations were still being made. His father was setting up a program to integrate human police officers into the C-sec program. Overall, he was impressed with how peaceful things were on the citadel. People of every race were working to make peace. Some distrusted Turians after what they thought was an unfair conflict, while others distrusted the new race - trusting the Turians far more than these newcomers. Either way, he could already see people moving past this. He imagined soldiers would have a more difficult time. On both sides. 

“You could stay,” he heard a voice say from the door. He looked sympathetically at his mother. “You know your father would love getting you a detective position at C-sec.” 

Garrus smiled at her, shaking his head. “Of that, I have no doubt.” He could never go back to that life. Not after everything. He had been down that path before, for long enough to realize that everything worthwhile was so caught up in red tape that a lot of innocent people would suffer before he could help them. Honestly, there wasn’t much he could do until it was too late, and sticking around to watch everything move at a snail’s pace was going to drive him insane. He owed  _ her _ more than that. If he could live, and she couldn’t, he’d have to live for the both of them. 

His father popped into the doorway beside his mother. “You can still make a difference, you know. The right way.”    
  
Garrus bit down the urge to say something about that. “I have some things I need to take care of. And I can’t go back. I think you know that.”

“Whatever you need to take care of son, I have a feeling there’s a better way to do it.”

“I can bring him in,” Garrus said hotly.

“So can the hierarchy.”

“Not where he’s gone, they can’t.”

“I have a feeling that when you find him, you won’t be bringing him in Garrus. That’s murder.”

“IF I find him,” Garrus started.

“When. We both know you’re skilled. It’s only a matter of time.”

“IF, I find him. I’ll bring him in. Unless he doesn’t give me a choice.” Garrus brushed past his father and headed towards the door. He prayed to the Spirits Sidonis would give him the smallest reason to pull that trigger. Hell, the more he thought about it, Sidonis already gave him a reason. 10 reasons. 10 lives, for Sidonis’ one pathetic life. He was going to fucking collect. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ya'll, I am so excited with this story. I really hope my writing is doing it justice. I've got some serious plans for this one. I'd really appreciate any kudos, or feedback/comments <3  
> Hope you all are doing well!
> 
> Love, Bee


	10. Few Are Angels

Avery Michaels never considered herself to be an adventurous person. She lived in a smaller coastal town just north of Cape Town her entire life. She married her high school sweetheart, worked from home as an editor, and never traveled outside of Africa until she was 56 years old. When their son Adam joined the Alliance, she was shocked. Not only would he leave Africa, he would be leaving Earth. She admired him and feared for him all at once, and the day he left was the last day she ever felt whole. After the war, he had been given an odd assignment shrouded in secrecy. He was the furthest from Earth any human had ever traveled before. The day he was declared MIA... well that was the last day Avery Michaels was a small town girl. 

Here she was, a 70 year old woman from Cape Town, just off a space frigate in a lawless station called Omega. She took her first step onto the station, felt the rumble of engines and fans, heard the shouts from heated arguments, saw the strange faces of a million new people and races and stars. She felt a cold sweat break out down her spine. She forced herself to think of Adam. The little baby boy who couldn't stop giggling when Tom would whistle. The toddler who found his legs and never stopped running. The man who sacrificed everything for his people. She had no regrets. Tom held out his hand and gave her a small smile. She took it, and they stepped forward into the unknown. 

It took them exactly 2 hours to find a trouble they knew they couldn't get themselves out of. 

"Yo, Avi... is this a human?" an alien with 4 eyes and sharp teeth called out as he backed them into the corner of the alley.

A Turian entered the alley and blocked their only way out. "Yup. Aren't they ugly? Like all their plates were ripped off, and they're just let like that."

4 eyes laughed menacingly as two more Turians followed the first in. "They don't look so tough. But we can't just let them waltz onto Omega now, can we?"

Avi strode up and glared down at them. Avery's mouth was dry. Tom put an arm in front of her protectively. She couldn't bare to see him hurt, not him too. She looked around desperately for a way out or help, but knew she'd find none. They were too old for this shit. "Humans aren't welcome here," the Turian growled, raising his clawed hand. But Avery didn't shut her eyes or flinch. She stared him down. She wouldn't die scared. Fuck that. 

Suddenly, a shadow fell over them. She looked up, and saw deep blue armor falling from the sky above them. The lights in the armor caused an aura to form like wings around their defender. The armor banged loudly on the concrete, as their protector crouched in front of them. He slowly rose, and Avery was shocked as the man rose to his full height. A tall Turian was guarding them. "Time to go," the Turian warned. 

Avi's eyes widened and he took a step back. "Ar..Archangel..." 

"Time. To. Go." 

"Archangel... you of all people... why wouldn't you help us? Why protect these humans?"

"What have they done to you?"

"What... their kind have killed countless..."

"No... not their kind. These people. What have they done?"

"Well... well nothing. They shouldn't be here."

"If they've done nothing, leave them be."

"I can't just sit by and watch humans overtake our galaxy."

"They live in this galaxy too." 

"Not if I have anything to say about it," Avi growled as he pulled a weapon.

Before he could fire, their defender was already on the move. Avery blinked and the weapon lay on the ground. She didn't even see how he had disarmed them he was so fast. They fought for a moment, and right as it looked like their defender had one, 4 eyes pulled a knife and found a weak spot. The knife slid in and their defender growled, punching 4 eyes hard. He pulled out a gun and shot 4 eyes in the shoulder. 4 eyes abandoned his friends right away, and the others followed suit. 

The blue armored Turian turned to face them. "Follow me," he huffed as he led them out of the alley. They walked for 15 minutes before he turned to face them again. "In here," he grunted as he opened a small door in what appeared to be an abandoned building. Inside was a small studio apartment. "This is a safe house. You can stay here for as long as you need, but I wouldn't suggest trying to live on Omega. It's not a good place." 

"Thank you," Avery whispered. "Thank you for saving us." 

The Turian nodded. He unclasped the top part of his armor as he retrieved a small medical kit. 

"Let me take a look," Tom said softly as he approached, but the Turian reeled back. "I'm a nurse. Just let me look, it's the least I can do," Tom said, pressing forward slowly. The Turian nodded. Tom made quick work of his injury, bandaging him up with a certain muscle memory that came with years of working at the hospital. 

"Why are you here?" the Turian asked. So Avery told him about their son. About how he was sent to Omega months ago. About how he was listed MIA. 

The Turian looked away. "I'm sorry, but if your son was here and is missing... when people go missing on Omega... they're never seen again." 

"We don't expect to find him alive," Tom said, his voice thick and heavy. "We just want to know what happened. To bring home his body if we can. We can't rest until we know."

The Turian nodded. "I'll try and find out what I can. I have a few resources. Humans are so rare, it shouldn't be hard to find out."

"Thank you," Tom said quietly. "Truly."

"That man called you Archangel. I can see why."

The Turian looked at her. "It was a nickname I was given by the humans during the war. Something about being an angel of death." 

"Angel of Death?" Avery said with shock in her voice. "No, no not that. Angel of Justice... a guardian... that's what I was thinking."

Archangel stared at her for a moment. She couldn't read his facial expression. He suddenly rose and left without a word. Tom placed a hand on hers and she took a deep breath, the first she had taken since they landed.

\------------------------------------

Avery and Tom had been in the safe house for 1 week. They only saw their Turian friend twice... Garrus was his name. Avery had gone to the Asari market a few times, and had asked around about Archangel. The man was terrifying, and sounded like the last person who would help them. But she knew that sometimes people weren't what they seemed. She discovered that he had been saving many people like her on Omega... not humans, but innocent people. She told the Asari at the market about the Archangel legends on earth, great defenders of justice. By the end of their first week on Omega, there was an excited buzz around the Asari market about Archangel. 'Protector', 'Defender of Justice', and 'Badass' were just a few of the taglines following his code-name. When they saw Garrus a third time, he had started to hear the rumors and asked if they had anything to do with it. Avery just smiled at him and offered him a Turian beer. 

"They're not rumors if they're all true, Archangel," Tom chuckled. 

Garrus huffed and drank the beer quickly. "I think I may have a lead on your son."

Avery stopped breathing and stared at him. "Adam..." she whispered.

"It's not good. It sounds like a group of slavers captured him. They want to see how humans survive under different circumstances, how they work... how long they last."

Avery held back a whimper and sat on the stool next to the bar. She felt Tom's hand at her back.

"Last word of him is from last week. I'll be sneaking in to their location tonight. It might be too late. I'm sorry, but I'll try."

Tom nodded, "That's more than what we would have hoped for, and we would never have gotten here without you. Are you sure about this? Putting your self in danger for strangers?"

Garrus took another drink. "I've assessed the risk, it's nothing too difficult. They certainly aren't expecting anyone to come looking." He stood and put his helmet on and nodded a goodbye as he grabbed his gear and walked out. 

Avery stared out the window for the next 4 hours. She barely moved. Tom paced back and forth behind the couch, and then would come sit next to her for a few minutes, only to go back to pacing. It was just past 2 AM when they heard the door bang open. Avery ran over and saw Garrus carrying Adam' bloody body into the kitchen. Tom swiped everything from the table onto the floor and Garrus set Adam down gently. 

"I... I think he's alive," Garrus said panting and exhausted. When he saw Tom begin to look him over as only a physician could, he stepped away and collapsed on the couch. 

"Is... is he breathing?" Avery gasped. 

"He is, but it's shallow. His heart rate is erratic." Tom pushed on Adam's stomach. "Avery...." he whispered. 

Avery choked back a sob. 

"M...mom..." Adam whispered. "Dad?"

"I'm here Adam, I'm here," Avery cried.

"We've got you son," Tom answered, his voice cracking. 

"I can't believe it's you," Adam weakly chuckled. "You... came to get me? On Omega?"

"Well of course we did," Avery choked out, smiling weakly. 

"You got Archangel to get me?"

Garrus looked over quickly in surprise.

"I'd recognize that emblem anywhere," Adam said softly. "Was briefed on it enough times. Thank God I never saw it in battle, or I wouldn't be here, huh?" he tried to laugh, but it turned into a wet cough. Adams eyes started to close. "Thanks," he whispered. His breathing was harsh, each breath shorter than the last. 

"We'll always come for you, Son," Tom said as he held Adam's hand. 

"Every, single, time," Avery nodded as she pet Adam's hair. 

Adam smiled, and took one last breath. 

Garrus walked out to the balcony as the couple sobbed over their child. He came back inside a half hour later, and the couple had already tightly wrapped their son in a sheet. 

"We're taking him home," Tom said softly. Avery sat by the body, her shoulders slumped and her head low. 

Garrus nodded. "I can carry him for you. The first frigate out is always 5:00 AM. That's just a couple hours from now. We can make sure you get a ticket."

Tom nodded. 

\---------------------------------------

Garrus gently placed the body on the frigate in the corner Avery had chosen. He reached into his pocket and pulled out Adam's dog tags. "He was hanging on to these when we were on our way back to the safe house." 

Avery slowly reached out and held them gently. "Thank you." She looked up at him then. "For everything. Truly."   
  
Tom reached out a hand and Garrus shook it. "You're a good man. I'm glad we met you." Tom left one of Adam's military bars in Garrus' hand, pushing it into the Turian's chest before walking away.


End file.
